Those in Peril on the Sea
by boasamishipper
Summary: "The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.
1. The Prologue

"**The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie **_**Titanic**_**: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Prologue

Ren blinks blearily, rubbing his eyes as he stumbles into the living room and nearly trips over the pile of the books that Gran-Gran keeps laying all over the house. He looks down and sees _A Justification of the Privileges of Women_ turned open to page two hundred and four. It's so worn and dog-eared and covered in marker stains that Ren isn't quite able to decipher the printed text anymore.

It's expected, of course, that Gran-Gran would've gone through every book, novel, and novella in the house and add her own perspective in the margins. She'd used to be a historian, one of the most revered ones in the world. Her expertise had been sought after by the top people in the Four Nations back in the day—_way back in the day, _Ren thinks fondly.

The name _Jinora Wen _has long since been lost to the history books, of course, because the human race can only focus on one thing for so long before focusing on something else, something shinier and newer. But that doesn't matter, certainly not to Gran-Gran. She can always find something to do.

Some days, Ren likes to look through the photo albums that his Gran-Gran keeps all over the house, looking back at the old, better days. Back when Gran-Gran's hair was brown instead of white peppered with bits of gray, when she had been able to walk around the house without the aid of a cane, when she'd sat with him and his brothers and had told them all wonderful fantastic stories about the world and how it worked.

She's a hundred and one, though, although she possesses the mental faculties of someone fifty years her junior. She's very self-efficient, making her own cup of tea in the morning (stubbornly insisting, "I'm just _fine,_ Ren, please don't worry about me.") and spending hours every day poring over history books and muttering to herself. Last night, when he'd gone to bed, she'd been complaining about her trifocals and insisting that she'd had perfect vision until she turned eighty-seven, and she'd never been to an eye doctor in her life before that.

Lost in thought, Ren enters the living room to see his Gran-Gran sitting on the couch, wearing a bathrobe over her cotton dressing gown. A book that he suspects is her signed copy of _A Long Road Away_ rests on her lap, and she's staring off into space.

"Good morning," he tells her, kissing her on the cheek and sitting next to her on the couch, moving a stack of papers to the coffee-colored rug on the floor.

Gran-Gran stirs and looks over at him. "Good morning, Ren," she says. "Sleep well?"

"I slept fine, and you?"

"Like the dead," she says, and he flinches despite himself at her long-running joke. He still can't get over the fact that she can address her mortality with such…nonchalance. "Don't flinch, dear. You know my time is soon—the least I can do is to joke about it."

Ren sighs, but says nothing more about the matter. He looks at the television screen, where a news program is broadcasting at low volume. The latest story on is something about a child prodigy making it to the finals of some competition that he couldn't care less about. _Must be a slow news day if they've resorted to this, then._ "Would you like some tea, Gran-Gran?"

"No, darling, I'll pass for now. I'd like to watch more of the program, would you mind turning the volume up a little bit?"

Ren nods and presses the volume button on the remote control. He knows that she's got no clue how to work the latest technological advances. The radio on her bookshelf has long since stopped working and had been made long before even his mother had been born.

"…calling you a _grave-robber_. What is your opinion on these accusations, Mr. Teishi?"

The man, Mr. Teishi, looks tall and imposing, even though his posture is horrible. His hand is clamped firmly on top of the bowler hat that he's wearing, and judging by the way the wind is blowing on the deck of the ship he's on, Teishi is afraid of his hat getting lost to the sea.

Ren can't help but snort.

"Well, Ms. Rei, when archeologists explored and dug in the ruins of Taku the media didn't call them grave-robbers, now did they? My team's been working on this project for nearly three years. They've gone through the best training money can offer, and I assure you, they're treating the artifacts that we have found with the best care possible." With a simple gesture, the camera pans over to a tub of something that looks like water, and a drawing lay at the bottom. It's not a very good image on the television screen, what with the static in the corners, but Ren can make it out.

Once he realizes what it is—or rather, _of_ what it is—he flushes down to the roots of his hair. Ren makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat as the camera zooms in. The picture is of a woman that looks to be in her early twenties, and she's completely naked except for a chain around her neck that sports a jewel that's probably worth more than his life.

Ren tries to avoid looking at the picture. "Um, Gran-Gran, do you want me to—"

"Well, I'll be a hog-monkey's uncle." The brashness of the statement surprises Ren, almost more than the joke from earlier. "Ren, get me a phone book. I'd like the telephone number of the television station. Now."

* * *

><p>Miza Beifong is frustrated.<p>

To be fair, she's been frustrated ever since that goddamn expedition went wrong last month. They were _supposed _to uncover the jewel necklace thing that Haru Teishi's been rambling on and on about since he'd stopped by her home in the Earth Kingdom and forced her to join his ragtag team of individuals.

Naturally, it's a sore subject. Mainly because she and Haru had once had a romantic relationship that had lasted for all of a week before both of them getting bored of one another's company. The other reason had been Miza's father, who'd absolutely refused to let her take part in Haru's "dirty scheme."

Miza can understand her father's reasoning. After all, her great-aunt, Lin Beifong, had died on the Titanic. Her Gran-Gran, Suyin, had barely escaped with her life. Suyin had made it to Republic City before eventually going back to Zaofu, their estate. There, she'd met Baatar—Miza's grandfather—and had had five children. (Uncle Baatar, Uncle Huan, whom Miza thinks is a bit temperamental, Auntie Opal, Uncle Wing, and her father.) Miza's father, Wei, had been one of the youngest kids of the Beifong family: the age gap between him and Miza's aunt and uncles was significant.

Despite the accusations of dishonoring her great-aunt's memory, Miza had gone on anyways, something that she was sincerely beginning to regret now. The coffee supply had run out weeks ago, she's beginning to tire of the rowdiness of the men on the ship, she can't remember the last time she's gone ashore, and the entire reason for the mission had gone to hell in a handbasket.

Maybe saying that she's frustrated is putting it just a tad mildly.

"I've got someone on the phone for you, Miza," calls Jian, making his way over to her through the crowd of people on the deck of the _URN Day-Ling_. Feng gives him a dirty look as Jian shoves him out of the way. If Feng hadn't been so steady on his feet, Miza is almost ninety percent sure that Jian's shove would've pushed him over the edge of the ship.

Miza waves him off before the man can even get within fifty feet of her work station. "I don't want to talk to whoever it is. I'm busy, Jian." With that, she puts her reading glasses back on and continues pouring over the paperwork. And maybe she sneaks a glance at the picture too, still soaking in the water. _Damn, I wish I could touch it._ But she can't, not without the whole damn thing crumbling to ashes.

Coffee. She really needs some coffee. But she's far too busy to get some, let alone listen to Jian's gabbling or whoever the hell he has on the phone with him.

Apparently between the start of the expedition and now, Jian had become a mind-reader. "Doing what? Wracking your brains over the mystery of the picture?" To her surprise, Jian is smiling. She doesn't remember the last time he smiled. _This must be interesting_. "Trust me, Miza, you're gonna want to talk to this one."

Miza glares at Jian, but he just cocks an eyebrow at her and gestures for her to take the phone. "This had better be good, Jian," she growls, and takes the phone, placing it to her ear. She attempts to school her voice a little but probably still comes across as hostile. Or possibly sleep-deprived. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Beifong." The woman on the other line sounds like she's at least ninety years old, but speaks with the wisdom of someone fifty years her junior. Miza knows that she's definitely not the logistics expert from the Fire Nation that had scheduled a teleconference with her yesterday. So what's she doing on the line? And why is Jian smiling like the owl-cat that ate the canary-mouse? "How are you?"

"Umm...fine?" she says, her voice going up to make her statement a question. Her cheeks flush, and she stands and begins pacing around the deck of the ship, unable to keep still. "How are you?"

"Fine as well." The woman chuckles, and it feels warm and sweet, like a nice cup of tea, but she sounds amused. Like Miza is a puppy polar-bear dog that had rolled over and wagged its tail. "My name is Siku. I'd like to ask you a few questions. More specifically about the drawing that I saw on the television set."

_Oh, Spirits, if this woman is another fan I'm going to skin Jian alive._ Miza quenches the thought after a few seconds. Whoever this Siku woman is, she doesn't sound like a reporter or a fan. Or even one of the grave-digger accusers. She clears her throat and says, "Um...I'm not really at a liberty to discuss things about the Titanic investigation, Mrs. Siku."

"Just answer one query on my behalf, dear, will you please?" The other woman pauses. "Have you found the Eye of the Sea yet?"

"I…" And really, it's a miracle at this point that Miza is even managing to stay completely upright. This woman knows something, Miza knows it like she knows the sky is blue. And Spirits knows that they need answers to this. They really do. "Mrs. Siku, how do you know about the Eye of the Sea?"

"That's quite simple, dear." And, before Miza can ask her to clarify, if this woman is really going to solve one of the greatest cases of all time in one fell swoop, Mrs. Siku clarifies. "My legal name is Jinora Gyatso, Ms. Beifong. The girl in your drawing is me."

* * *

><p>"Bullshit," Haru proclaims, pacing around the deck with his hands thrown in the air in pure exasperation. "Her statement is bullshit and you know it, Miza. Jinora Gyatso died on the Titanic when she was seventeen. There's no record of her getting off the ship in Republic City when it docked. Zhang himself said that he never saw Jinora again. Hate to say it, love, but your caller is a phony. A big phony."<p>

"I know, Haru," Miza placates. She really does—everything he's saying is eerily reminiscent of what she'd been thinking of less than an hour ago. "I understand, and I really thought so too, but I think that she's telling the truth."

"Listen to me, Miza. I don't think you do know. She is _lying_. I did research on her to check things out. Before she was married, her name was Jinora Wen. Does that ring any bells?"

Miza shakes her head, bemused.

"Yeah, it wouldn't to you, but back in the day—like back in the time of our _grandparents_—she was huge in Republic City, all over the Four Nations, to be honest. She was a historian; a really famous one, the best in the world, people called her. Raava only knows what she learned when she was researching people's lives. She probably researched the Titanic and all of its passengers, it was a big thing in her time. Then she married a guy named Siku, moved to Ba Sing Se, popped out a couple of kids, and retired thirty years ago. I don't care what you say, Miza, it can't be her. Jinora Gyatso would be over a hundred by now, if she was still alive."

"According to her records, she turned a hundred and one about two months ago."

"Okay, so she's _really_ freaking old," Haru admits. "It doesn't change anything, Miza. I'm positive that she's just some lying old coot."

"Haru!" Miza's voice is sharp. "Look. Just hear me out. She's got no reason to lie. We never offered a reward on the television set, so there's not a motive behind it. Who cares if she really is Jinora Gyatso? You know as well as I do that the Ayre Corporation died off years ago. The Gyatso family went extinct in the male line at least twenty years ago. LingShi Zhang bit the dust long before either of us were born. There's absolutely no one alive who would care if Jinora Gyatso came back from the dead."

"Dammit, Miza, don't look at me like that."

She raises an eyebrow, knowing that she's about to win. She's dangled her carrot, and now all she has to do is wait a few moments for her boss to jump up and grab it. "Come on, you know you're just as curious as I am about this."

After a few minutes, Haru curses, and she knows that the battle is hers. "Oh fine, for Raava's sake, bring her in! But when this lady turns out to be some insane old gold-digger, don't say I didn't warn you." Then, almost as an afterthought, he says, "But the travel expenses are coming out of your final paycheck, Miza."

_Son of a bitch._

* * *

><p>As the helicopter touches down on the deck of the <em>Day-Ling<em>, Ren immediately unbuckles himself from his chair and jumps out, reluctantly taking the hand of one of the crewmen. A young lady that's probably around his age, maybe a bit older, is standing next to the man from the television. Several crewmen and scientists have gathered around—all of them eager to see whether or not his Gran-Gran is a dirty liar.

Ren feels as protective as a mother saber-moose lion protecting her cubs when several crewmen conjure a ramp practically out of thin air and manage to get Gran-Gran out of the helicopter before placing her in a wheelchair. Ren takes their suitcases from another crewman and places them on the deck, taking the handles of the wheelchair. "I've got it," he says, and pushes the wheelchair out of the crowd, hoping that someone has the smarts to pick up their suitcases.

Teishi comes forward and introduces himself. "My name's Haru Teishi, we spoke earlier," he says. "This is my second in command, Miza Beifong."

Miza smiles politely, but doesn't say anything. She's obviously preoccupied with something, not that Ren can blame her.

"We're glad you could come, Mrs. Gyatso. Er, Siku."

"Call me Jinora, would you please, Mr. Teishi?" Gran-Gran asks amicably, beaming widely. "Mrs. Siku makes me feel so old. I am, of course, but that's all water under the bridge, isn't it?"

"Um. Okay. Jinora it is, then." Ren stifles a snicker at how uncomfortable Teishi seems to look. "Your rooms are this way. I can place your caretaker with you, if you'd like."

"I'd like that very much indeed," Gran-Gran confirms before glancing over at Miza. "My dear, I hope you don't mind me asking this, but are you of any relation to Lin Beifong? Perhaps Suyin? Yes, it must be, I can see her in your smile."

Miza looks like Gran-Gran had just asked to shave her legs and take up square dancing with the Fire Lord. "Y-yes. Suyin was my grandmother." She swallows. "Did…did you know her? On the _Titanic_, I mean?"

Gran-Gran nods. "I did indeed. Both of your relatives were good women, Ms. Beifong. They saved many lives on board that ship. One of them was mine."

Miza ponders that and scratches the back of her neck awkwardly. When she smiles, this time genuinely, Ren can't help but find it extremely attractive. "Thank you, Jinora. I'll tell my parents that, I think they'll appreciate it." To Ren, she says, "You must be her grandson, am I right?"

"Yes, ma'am," he confirms. "Ren Siku, at your service." He gives both her and Teishi a mock bow, and only Miza gives a small laugh of acknowledgement, her eyes lighting up. _I hope I can make her laugh a lot more on this trip…_

"Flirting aside," says Teishi, and Miza gives him a death glare, "is there anything that I can get for you, Jinora?"

Gran-Gran nods. "Oh, yes. I'd like to see my drawing."

Without another word, Ren, Gran-Gran, and Miza follow Teishi down several hallways into a dark room that has to be at least twenty degrees below room temperature. Several artifacts are being thoroughly examined by a test team composed of fifteen men and women (at least that Ren can see).

"We have to keep your drawing in here," Miza explains, pointing to a tub of saline where the picture rests. "After more than eighty years in the ocean it'll crumble to dust if you were to pick it up and let it dry."

Gran-Gran nods, and her eyes fill with tears as she picks up a small mirror whose screen is shattered. Its handle is chipped, but Gran-Gran looks at it like an art critic looks at a masterpiece. She chuckles. "This was a gift from my mother," she says, showing it to everyone. "I'll never forget what it was for. To remind me that I was always to smile, to play the role of a perfect wife. The reflection's changed a bit, though..."

No one says anything.

"Dear Spirits, it's like being in a museum," Gran-Gran observes. Her expression hardens as she notices a bumblefly hair clip lying next to a hairbrush. "That clip was a gift from my fiancé. Spirits, I thought I'd thrown it out…"

"Anyways," Teishi interrupts, and Ren wants to smack him. "I've invited you here to ask you about what happened on the _Titanic, _Jinora. Are you able to remember?"

"With stunning clarity," she says dryly. Her sarcasm is the one thing that age hasn't taken away from her. Miza snickers. "I'm able to remember everything, Mr. Teishi. It's just surprising to be able to tell this part of my life at all. It was mortifying, and degrading, and yet—yet I wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world."

Ren sits down at a table, and Miza quickly follows. Some scientists migrate closer, all eager to hear the story of a _Titanic _survivor. Teishi pulls a tape recorder out of his pocket, turns it on, and sets it on the table between them. "Tell us about it, Jinora," he says. "Please."

Gran-Gran exhales shakily, tears springing to her eyes. She wipes them away with her wrist, then folds her hands in her lap. Half of the workers lean closer to hear the conversation.

"It's been…eighty-four years," she says. Her tone is almost one of amazement, like she's surprised that it's been so long.

"We know," Teishi says in a mock-soothing voice. "Just tell us what you can—"

She holds up a hand. "Would you let me finish?"

Teishi is humbled into silence.

"Thank you. As I was saying, it's been eighty-four years, and I can still remember it all as if it happened yesterday. People shouting from the docks up at us, the people on the ship blowing kisses and calling goodbye to their loved ones. I remember the china was imported from the finest shops in the Earth Kingdom, and had never been used before then. The paint on the walls, the pattern of the carpets—it was all brand new, and so beautiful. The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was." She sighs, looking past them all at a point that maybe only she can see. "It really was…"

**I don't even know, okay? I recently watched the movie Titanic for the first time a couple of weeks ago, and ever since then this idea has been stuck in my head. So now, here we are. This will be continued, I promise, I'm just not sure how updates will go from here. Rest assured, though, the fic shall go on! I'm already too invested in it for it to not to. :)**

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review!**


	2. The Departure

**"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie **_**Titanic**_**: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter One

**177 AG**

The crowd at the docks was gargantuan, although it was mostly populated by immigrants. It seemed as though entire extended families had come out to see history be made as the _Titanic_ set off on her maiden voyage from the Earth Kingdom to Republic City. Children squealed and hollered in excitement, ignoring the irritated and weary commands of their parents. Some young women rocked screaming babies in their arms. Men bellowed at the stewards on the docks, demanding to be let through. The entire area smelled of a putrid mixture of alcohol and gasoline, and Jinora rolled up the window to avoid it.

Jinora couldn't help but wonder how Ikki, Rohan, and Meelo would feel in this crowd. No doubt they'd be running around and shrieking along with the other immigrant children on the docks if they were given permission to. Her mother, Pema, would probably die of embarrassment on the spot to see her children conversing with commoners. After all, the Gyatso family's wealth could be stretched back to the time of the third Fire Lord—Father had never let them forget that. Neither had Mother. They shouldn't soil their name by mingling with those that were beneath them.

Perhaps that had been why her siblings had gone ahead on another ship to Republic City last week. Her Aunt Kya and Uncle Bumi had accompanied them—Jinora felt bad for them. Even when they were attempting to be docile, Ikki, Meelo and Rohan were not easy to handle.

If push came to shove, Jinora would've rather been with her siblings on the _Titanic_ than with her fiancé.

She leaned her elbow upon the door of the car and commenced staring out the window at the world around her. Who knew when she would next see this small town in the Earth Kingdom, if ever? LingShi's company (the Zhang Corporation, where they made ammunition) had its headquarters in the inner Republic City, and Jinora knew that she'd be required to live there after her wedding.

She'd thought it was ridiculous, getting married at only seventeen. Especially to a man that she knew no better than the servants that lived on her family's estate. Especially to a man that was almost thirty years old, no less. Two of the six months that they'd known each other had been passed awkwardly courting, and the remaining four had been spent discussing trivial things, like the flowers and bridesmaids Jinora wanted for their wedding. Not that her opinion mattered—LingShi just wanted it for her sake, in order to make her feel valued.

It never worked.

"I can see the docks," Mother commented offhandedly, and Jinora squinted through the throng of people, just being able to make out the helm of the ship before it was blocked by an immigrant family. "That is the ship, isn't it?" she asked of the driver, Ju.

"I believe so, ma'am," Ju replied. Mother gave him a quiet, noncommittal grunt in return.

The Satomobile stopped (_finally_, Jinora thought in relief, more than ready to get out of the car) and the driver scurried to open the door for her. "After you, Miss Gyatso," Ju said with a small bow, moving aside to let her exit the car. "Enjoy your trip and your wedding."

Jinora gave him a quick (albeit not entirely genuine) smile and stepped out, holding her skirt up to avoid tripping on the uneven ground. She looked up at the ship, taking it in with cool appraisal. "It doesn't look as big as they've made it out to be," she said, just to be contrary to the thousands of praises that had already been heaped on the vessel. "Isn't the _Mauretania _bigger than this?"

"Nonsense, dear," LingShi said, coming out of the car and shielded his eyes from the brightness of the sun. "It's over a hundred feet longer than the _Mauretania. _Why, it's far more luxurious: the china alone was brought in directly from the Earth Kingdom, and the beds have never been slept in—-less of a risk for ratroaches. The Spirits themselves couldn't sink this ship."

"Yes, that's what I've heard." Her mother appeared uninterested, although Jinora knew better. By the time the ship docked in Republic City, Mother would've documented every inch of their trip—if anything inane or important went wrong, the White Star Line could most definitely expect a strongly worded letter in their mailbox. "We'd better hurry," Mother said. "We wouldn't want to have to enter with the third class." She said the words 'the third class' the way that one would've said 'the black plague'.

With a nod, LingShi gestured the way toward the first class gangway, and they moved into the crowd. Penga, Jinora's maid, and Ransik, LingShi's valet, hustled behind them, laden with packages and bags of items that Mother had deemed too delicate for the baggage handlers.

LingShi meandered between Satomobiles and handcarts, trying to find an easily accessible path around hurrying second class and steerage passengers and well-wishers. It was easy to tell first class from the other classes—most of the first class passengers avoided the smelly press of the dockside crowd by using an elevated boarding bridge, twenty feet above.

"Darling?" LingShi put a hand on Jinora's shoulder. She stiffened. "Would you like your coat? It'll be cold tonight, and I think we should take a stroll around the deck." The 'I think' was irrelevant, in Jinora's opinion. She knew perfectly well that if LingShi wanted to take a stroll around the deck, they would.

"Thank you," she replied coolly, taking her jacket from him and turning away, not willing to face LingShi at the moment.

His hand moved, hidden by the fabric of her long red and yellow dress, and pinched her butt. Jinora flinched involuntarily, thoroughly humiliated by the rising flush in her cheeks. Luckily, her mother didn't notice.

"Jinora," he sneered, his amicable mask fading away like a stain on someone's carpet, "you know what's expected of you now, don't you, darling? Just a quick kiss."

Although she would've rather jumped into the ocean below, Jinora did what was expected of her and she turned around, let him pull her in and kiss her, then followed him back over to where her mother, Ransik and Penga were impatiently waiting for them.

They moved past a line of steerage passengers in their coarse wool and tweed outfits, queued up inside movable barriers like cattle in a chute. Jinora caught a glimpse of a health examiner peering at the third class passengers' heads one by one, obviously checking their scalps and eyelashes for lice.

"Name?" asked one of the officers, peering at a clipboard, pen poised to take their names.

"Pema Gyatso," Mother stated, tilting her chin up snobbishly, as if on instinct. "My daughter, Jinora Gyatso, and her fiancé, LingShi Zhang." She placed a particular emphasis on LingShi's title, as if she were afraid that the ticket-man would try and make a move on Jinora if he thought that she was single.

"Your last name is Zhang?" inquired the officer. "Like the ammunition company?"

"One and the same, my good man," answered LingShi, his amicable mask firmly back in place, although his slightly condescending tone didn't change. He slapped a five yuan note into the man's hand, and the officer's eyes dilated. Jinora resisted the urge to roll her eyes. LingShi was accustomed to throwing around his money like he had a bottomless supply. _I was like that too, once. I know better now—even bottomless supplies can run out. _He gestured for Ransik and Penga to put down Jinora and her mother's bags, which the servants did, looking quite happy to do so. "Take these up to our staterooms, would you please?"

"Yes, sir. Of course, sir," said the officer. Jinora knew that there was a bigger chance of him selling mochi and soft cream in hell than turning down LingShi's tip. He made a quick gesture. "Carry on, everyone."

"_Honestly_," Mother complained as she was nearly jostled aside by two yelling steerage boys who shove past her. LingShi gripped Jinora's hand and the two of them moved closer. "LingShi, we could've been here hours earlier and could be relaxing now instead of having to mingle with the steerage class. What took you so long?"

"Jinora held us up, Pema," LingShi replied breezily. "Wanted to leave the estate wearing all black, of all things. Almost forgot to put on her coat."

Jinora's mouth set into a thin line. "I felt like wearing black," she muttered. _It's definitely reflecting of my mood right now._

As if he'd heard her thoughts, LingShi sent her a dark look, and gripped her arm possessively as he practically frog marched her up the rest of the gangway and into the corridor of the _Titanic._

* * *

><p><em>Some people called it the Ship of Dreams. To me, it was the ship of nightmares. I didn't care one bit about the china or the patterns on the bed sheets or how the <em>Titanic _was the biggest ship ever to set sail. All I cared about was how the ship was taking me to be married in chains. I felt like someone's slave._

_I wanted to scream, to throw things around like a toddler having a temper tantrum. I had to fight the urge to run away several times into a pub, where I'd hide out and stay until morning, and then run back to our estate on Air Temple Island. But I knew that I couldn't do it, not without getting caught. It was from that realization that my hate blossomed, encompassing my mother, my siblings, LingShi, practically the entire world. It could have consumed me, you know._

_But it didn't, thank the Spirits. It didn't because he didn't allow it to._

* * *

><p>Kai Wen wasn't sure how a simple, laid-back game of poker had developed into a life-or-death situation, but stranger things had happened to him in his life, and besides, he wasn't stupid enough to question bad luck. After all, two third-class tickets for the <em>Titanic <em>sat on the table, amidst a gold pocket watch, and currency from every major city in the Four Nations. This could be his only chance to change things.

He snuck a look over at Skoochy, whose eyes roamed around the room. Perhaps he was trying to act nonchalant, like he hadn't a care in the world, but Kai knew better. His friend had virtually no poker face—if he had a good hand, it was obvious. If not, even more so. Depending on the outcomes of the two men across from both him and Skoochy (Ming and Shaozu were their names), whose cards probably weren't the best either, it was all up to Kai.

A king each of clubs, hearts and diamonds, a ten of diamonds, and a three of spades. Not a bad hand, and it certainly had the potential to become a good one. But it was winner takes all—and if his hand turned out to be a bad hand, both he and Skoochy would be screwed six ways to Sunday. That, of course, could not happen. Kai had a feeling that the outcome of this game would be in their favor. It had to be.

The odds had never particularly been in his favor his entire life. His father had died when he was young, and his mother had died when he'd been even younger. Kai had lived a life where the most excitement he'd faced was getting shunted to another foster home, where the odds of a happy adoption were even less likely. The one constant had been that he'd run away every single time.

And then, when a family had actually been talking about adoption, Kai couldn't stand it. Not a family like that, where beating and starving was a common practice. So he'd stuffed the family's belongings in a gunnysack and ran. The sheriff and his deputies were probably still looking for him.

But then, in a pub in the Lower Ring of Ba Sing Se, he ran into Skoochy Nakamura, an acquaintance of his from his first foster home. Skoochy had run away too and was giving the drifter lifestyle a try. His brown hair was still unruly, his wit was still drier than the Si Wong Desert, and he still wore that stupid pageboy cap—but he looked skinny and malnourished, something that wasn't too uncommon for a street kid.

But they were friends, at least somewhat. So he and Skoochy had stuck together after that. Two weeks ago, they'd hopped onto the back of a paddleboat, hoping that it would take them somewhere better than where they were. It'd brought them here, to the harbor where the _Titanic_, supposedly the largest ship ever built, was going to depart on its maiden voyage.

"Alright," Kai announced, loud enough to catch the attention of nearly everyone in the pub. "Moment of truth." He raised an eyebrow at Skoochy, then at the other two men. "Two of our lives are about to change. Skooch, what do you have?"

"Nothin', bub," replied Skoochy, setting down five low-ranking cards that amounted to absolutely nothing. A bead of sweat formed above his upper lip and he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. Kai sighed, shaking his head. _Poor guy needs to grow a pair or get some optimism, for the love of Tue and La._

Ming reluctantly set down his cards. Nothing as well.

Then Shaozu looked at his cards and set them down, revealing two eights and two sixes. He glared at Kai, as if he _dared _Kai to get a better pair than him. And in that moment, a mixture of nerves, anxiety, and euphoria mixed in his stomach, creating a combination that made him want to vomit or shout in glee. But Kai couldn't show anything. Not yet.

"Sorry, Skooch," Kai began, rubbing the back of his neck. "May as well say goodbye now."

"Son of a bitch!" Skoochy slammed his hands down on the table, both angry and thoroughly humiliated. The tips of his ears were bright red. "Kai, I swear, man, if you lost my money, I'm going to—"

"Hey, now, look here, all I'm saying is that you're not gonna see your girls again for quite a while, brother," Kai continued, finally slapping a full house down on the table. "Know why? Because we're going to Republic City, baby! Full house!"

Skoochy leapt out of his seat, grabbing the tickets from the top of the card pile and holding them like they were worth more than the jewels on the Earth Queen's crown. "Hot damn, Kai! We're going to—"

"Yeah, baby, we're going to Republic City!" hooted Kai, snapping the gold watch on his wrist while Skoochy shoveled the yuans into his knapsack. Ming leapt on top of Shaozu, pummeling him and shouting something in an indecipherable accent about idiots and tickets.

Sweet Spirits, it was really happening. They were going to Republic City. The capital of the free world, the land of the free and the home of the brave. He could start a new life, make a family. He could start over again in Republic City.

"Nah, man! _Titanic _leaves for the big city in five minutes, if you want to catch it."

Kai whipped around to stare at the bartender. Then, he declared, "_Shit_."

And then Skoochy and Kai sprang into action, swinging their bags onto their backs and sprinting out of the pub and down the pier, jostling well-wishers out of the way and knocking piles of luggage onto the ground. Kai came to a dead halt, staring up at the ship's hull that towered seven stories up into the air. It was bigger than anything he'd ever seen, and then Skoochy grabbed his arm and nearly dragged him the rest of the way onto the bottom of the third class gangway just as it started to retract.

"Hey!" Kai shouted, grabbing the tickets and frantically waving them in the air. "Hey, we're passengers, let us on! You have to let us on!"

One of the officers looked at him strangely—Kai supposed he and Skoochy were quite the sight to see, passengers with rumpled clothes and five o'clock shadows and no care towards punctuality. "Have you been through the inspection queue?"

Before Skoochy, with his abysmal bluffing skills, could intervene, Kai quickly said, "Yes, of course. We're from Republic City, perfectly hygienic and everything. Not a problem with us, I can assure you."

"Right, right, get on board." The officer gestured them past, either not caring in the least or just not wanting to be the one who would delay the _Titanic's _maiden voyage. Kai assumed it was the latter as he hopped the gap between the gangway and the ship, Skoochy on his heels. They ran up onto the A-deck in time to hear the roar of the ship's whistle as the ship set off from its port.

"Goodbye!" he yelled, blowing a kiss to a group of girls dressed in second-class finery on the docks. "Goodbye, we'll miss you! I'll write to you when we land!"

Skoochy, after sending him a questioning look, seemed to understand what Kai was doing and began blowing kisses as well, yelling to a family of seven on the docks that he'd never forget them. "We're the luckiest sons of bitches in the world, ain't we, Kai?" he asked, leaning against the railing and taking out a cigarette. He passed Kai one, who stuck it behind his ear for safekeeping.

"Skoochy," Kai said happily, slinging an arm around his friend, "trust me. We passed that barrier years ago."

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to review! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. :)**


	3. The Connection

**"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie **_**Titanic**_**: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter Two

**177 AG**

"I can see Republic City already, you know," Skoochy remarked, making a big show of shielding out over the railing with one hand shielding his eyes. It'd already been a day since they departed and Skoochy still hadn't gotten tired of that joke. "What're you going to do once we dock, Kai?"

Kai shrugged, because he honestly didn't have a clue. There was nowhere for him to go in Republic City, no family to stay with, no friends to freeload off, not even a park bench to sleep on. When the ship actually docked there, he was going to have to rely on the Spirits for guidance on what he would do. He'd always dreamed of going across the world someday, but he had never planned to be setting off for the biggest adventure of his life with only ten yuans in his pocket, a gold wristwatch and the clothes on his back.

Spirits, he and Skoochy were majorly screwed.

"No clue, man. I'd always kind of hoped that I'd know what to do once I was_ there_, you know?" He turned around, leaning on the railing, and continued. "What happened yesterday was really, well, sudden. Nothing's really sunk in yet." Then, to be polite, he asked, "D'you know what you're going to do, Skooch?"

"Are you kidding me? Of course I know what I'm gonna do. I'm going to be rich, make money in the stock market, marry a hot broad and be a hotshot businessman," Skoochy said, chuckling. "Nah, to be honest, I have no clue. I'll be on Raava's good graces until I'm able to think of something."

Kai laughed, playfully shoving his friend in the shoulder. "Thinking? Since when does the great Skoochy Nakamura think?"

Skoochy flipped him the bird. "Fuck off, Wen. You know what, I'm going to go get lunch. Want me to save you a place?"

"Yeah, yeah, go on." Kai turned back towards the railing, looking out at the sparkling ocean and the darkening sky as Skoochy jogged away to the third class dining room. It was nice and quiet out here, and he needed a few minutes to think without his friend's constant sarcastic drone in his ear. _First chance I've been alone in a while, _he thought, _and my first chance to just rest and _breathe _all day_. He rubbed his face and bent down to rest his head against the metal railing, just deciding to enjoy the peace while he could. In five days, when the ship docked, it'd be chaos all over again. _Spirits knows I need at least a little stability in my life._

He knew that the _Titanic_ was going to slow down again to drop anchor at Gaoling soon. The crew had already rushed past him and Skoochy to prepare the ship for its docking, which would probably be in less than half an hour. It'd be their last stop before officially setting out on their maiden voyage.

Kai scratched the back of his neck, took one last inhale of the salty sea air, and headed inside, hoping that Skoochy had saved him a seat in the third class dining room—and that there'd be enough food to go around.

* * *

><p>Jinora stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling mirror, allowing Penga to put the finishing touches on her appearance. Her dress for the evening was a dark emerald color that had been fitted around her waist to accentuate her slim figure. Mother had chosen it when they were packing, because she knew that LingShi's favorite color was emerald—and partially because the image that Jinora needed to obtain of being his docile wife-to-be needed to be kept.<p>

She swept a lock of her long chocolate brown hair behind her ear, wondering when she got married if she'd be allowed to cut it. Her hair already extended to the small of her back, and it was getting extremely tedious to style it in a certain pattern every day. Shorter hair was much more stylish nowadays, but Jinora knew that her mother would rather swim naked in the ocean than allow her eldest daughter to show herself modeling a second-class hairdo.

Mother stood in the doorway to the bedroom, fiddling with her wedding ring. "Penga, you may go," she said suddenly. "I'd like a few moments alone with my daughter, if I may."

_Spirits, if that isn't foreboding I don't know what is._ The last time Mother had spent a few moments alone with her had been when she'd informed Jinora that the paperwork deciding her engagement to LingShi Zhang had been filed. Penga, not one to argue, quickly curtsied and left the room.

Mother raked her eyes over Jinora's appearance, giving her a thorough once-over that left a pit in her stomach unlike any other. "You remember what you were taught, don't you?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Wonderful." Mother gave her a small smile and signaled for Jinora to follow her out the door. Once they were in the hallway, they joined the influx of finely-dressed people heading toward the elevators, which would take them up to D deck, where their dining hall was.

On their way to their table, where LingShi and the others were waiting, Mother waved to a few men and women that Jinora vaguely recognized from other social functions—mainly those who'd once done business with her father's company, the Ayre Corporation.

"Jinora," said Mother, gesturing to two older women standing side by side to one another, "you remember Lin and Suyin Beifong, do you not?"

The Beifong family was one of the richest ones in the Four Nations, especially so because it had two matriarchs: Lin, who was in charge of the Republic City company (where they made guns and other things for the police departments), and Suyin, who was being groomed to take over the company in Zaofu, the family estate. Their mother, Toph Beifong, had been well-acquainted with Jinora's late paternal grandfather, Aang (the founder of the Ayre Corporation), and had gone away on a sabbatical long before Jinora was born. No one had seen Toph since.

The two sisters, though, were almost as far apart in age as Jinora and Rohan were, not to mention in personality. Where Lin was sharp angled, scarred (no one was quite brave enough to work out how Lin had gotten them) and rough-voiced, Suyin was kind, caring, and comfortable to be around. Even their outfits were different—Lin wore gray, Suyin wore bright colors that stood out in the room full of dark suits and pastel-colored dresses.

"Hello, Lin, Suyin." Jinora curtsied. "A pleasure to see you both again."

Lin grimaced at her (the closest that she would get to a smile), whereas Suyin beamed at Jinora like they hadn't seen each other in years. "Hello, Jinora, Pema," she greeted. "May I congratulate you on your engagement, Jinora? LingShi is such a wonderful man—we spoke to each other earlier."

"Thank you," Mother responded. "You'll be coming to the wedding, won't you?"

From what Jinora knew, her mother liked Suyin—even considered her a close friend, which was admirable in a society as high-functioning as theirs—but Pema did not like Lin at all. Jinora thought that the hatred had begun when the information had been revealed that Tenzin, Jinora's father, had had a brief affair with Lin during the early aspects of his and Pema's marriage.

"Yes, we were planning on it. It's coming up soon, isn't it?"

After a few more minutes of forced conversation, Mother and Jinora moved away from the Beifong sisters and started heading toward their own table. They found it easily, seeing as the six foot tall Ransik hovering above LingShi like an overprotective mother was hard to miss. They were seated with prominent figures, some that Jinora knew and many she didn't.

The Sato family, for example, sat with them. Hiroshi owned the Future Industries company, and his daughter, Asami, was married to a doctor in the United Forces, whose name was Bolin (he was a light-hearted, easygoing man that Jinora had had a crush on back when she was younger). The Sato's and the Gyatso's had been on friendly terms for as long as Jinora could remember, so she greeted Hiroshi, Asami and Bolin with a genuine smile.

There was a young, tan-skinned woman at their table named Korra Lieng, who wore an enormous feathered hat that didn't seem to mix well with the light blue dress that she wore. Korra, although she was related to the chieftain and princess of the Northern Water Tribe, hadn't been considered rich enough for a first class ticket until recently, when her husband, Mako (Bolin's older brother), had struck gold somewhere out west. Even so, Mother would snort derisively in Korra's presence and refer to her and Mako as "new money".

LingShi pulled out her seat for her, patting her on the hip as she sat down. Jinora stiffened and crossed her arms, refusing to say anything. Korra and Mako were across from her. Suyin and Lin sat down the table next to Asami, Bolin and Hiroshi. Mother sat on the other side of LingShi. Ransik stood at the far end, examining the proceedings with the same tense expression he always wore.

_Well, this should be interesting_, Jinora thought, taking a small forkful of her sea prune stew and raising it to her mouth, reveling in the familiar taste. The White Star Line certainly knew how to cook cuisine from all Four Nations_._

"You know," Korra commented, "I've always wondered why they call ships 'she' instead of 'it'." She smirked. "Just another example of men setting the rules their way, I suppose."

Amidst the polite laughter, their waiter arrived to take their orders. While Asami asked for vegetable dumplings, Jinora fought the urge to light a cigarette. The women weren't allowed to smoke, but they did in secret. Asami had let Jinora borrow cigarettes many a time—in such a high-functioning society, they needed to take a moment to relax and take a smoke once in a while. Jinora had been doing it since she was thirteen.

"She'll take the ginger-infused pea tendril and hibiscus-root salad," LingShi said. If there was one thing that she was thankful for, it was that LingShi remembered that her family were all vegetarians. It'd probably been one of the first things that he'd learned about her. "And I'll have the deep-fried pickled radishes."

"Of course, sir."

"Are you alright, dear?" LingShi inquired, placing his hand on hers. "You're looking a bit pale."

Jinora exhaled, her stomach suddenly dropping to her knees. She barely staved off the urge to throw up. "I'm fine. I...I just need some air." Standing up quickly, she ignored LingShi's question of whether or not she wanted him to accompany him and tore out of the dining hall.

* * *

><p>Kai's knuckles were smeared with black, and a smudge of charcoal inhabited on his cheek, but he didn't care. He was too absorbed in observing an older man and a three year old girl standing on the lower rung of the rail, both of them watching the seagulls soar across the cloud-covered sky, and as he watched, he drew. He sat on a bench across from them, his knees pulled up to his chest as he sketched using a charcoal pencil, making sure strokes on the parchment. It was all second nature to him by now, drawing. He'd been doing it since he was old enough to pick up a pencil.<p>

Next to him, Skoochy gave a grunt of appreciation. "Nice picture, man," he said.

Kai nodded. If there was one thing that Kai prided himself on, it was his art. His sketchbook, which rested on his knees, was his most treasured possession, worth more than a million yuans. Back in the Earth Kingdom, he'd done portraits on the streets for a couple of yuans—even some nude pictures of some particularly nice-looking Fire Nation girls. He showed them to Skoochy once, and his friend had praised him as a deity. "Yeah, I could add a little more to it, but…" he shrugged. "Who knows, maybe I'll sell it to them."

"Speaking of selling your art, you think you can sell me that picture of those Fire Nation girls sometime?" Skoochy asked deviously, looking like a wounded owl-cat as Kai punched him in the arm. "Relax, man, I'm kidding. I ain't one to part you with your drawings. Hey, I'm joking around!"

"Fire Nation girls aren't exactly something to joke about, men," drawled someone from behind, and Kai and Skoochy whirled around to see a greasy-haired man dressed in torn trousers and a black shirt. "Name's Tahno," the man introduced. "Tahno Han. And trust me, those Fire Nation girls...they have a nice, flexible gams. I speak from experience."

"Name's Kai Wen," Kai said, then nodded towards the man next to him. "My friend, Skoochy Nakamura. And thanks for the daily sex tip, brother. Appreciate it."

Tahno snorted derisively, flipping his bangs out of his face. "Oh, I like you. You're pretty feisty, Mr. Wen—you've gotta be if you draw pictures of Fire Nation girls in the nude."

Kai rolled his eyes, prepared to say something along the same vein as Tahno had when any words he had drained out of him. At the aft railing of B deck promenade stood a girl in a beautiful green dress. She looked ethereal, almost like an angel, and he could feel his mouth slowly dropping open in awe.

_Forget the Fire Nation girls—who in the hell is that?_

Their eyes connected, his green on her brown ones, and his stomach twisted. Then he saw a man that looked around twenty-five or so come up behind the girl and grab her arm. The girl let him take her arm (even if she looked less than pleased about it) and they walked away, both looking unhappy and conferring in quiet voices.

Kai couldn't help but stare after her, wondering who the man was and why he was considered special enough to touch the girl. He wouldn't have considered the Spirits themselves worthy enough.

As if from a long distance away, Kai heard Tahno give a sarcastic laugh. "I'd let that train of thought derail if I were you, buddy boy," the older man commented. "You'd sooner have Tue and La fly out of your ass than get any closer to the likes of her."

Kai shrugged, wondering why he felt so exhausted all of a sudden...and wondering why the girl's haunted brown eyes had struck such a chord deep within him.

**I'd just like to thank GraciaSpirit, LordTomyh, goingGrimdark, and words-with-dragons for their favorites, GraciaSpirit, LordTomyh, SilentCreScriptor, goingGrimdark, relena soulheart, and words-with-dragons for their follows, and my three anonymous users, goingGrimdark and words-with-dragons for their reviews. Seeing that the most iconic Kainora writer in the fandom had reviewed**_** my**_** story really made my day. :)**

**Thanks for reading, guys, and don't forget to review! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. :)**


	4. The Near Fall

"**The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie **_**Titanic**_**: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter Three

**177 AG**

LingShi hadn't been particularly pleased with her for running out on him during lunch, and had kept telling her so for the duration of the night. Jinora's mother had asked if she'd felt alright, then had reprimanded her for not asking LingShi to accompany her. Altogether, her entire evening was a mess.

Dinner that night ended at around ten o'clock, and a few minutes passed before the men at the table, including Mako, Bolin, and Hiroshi Sato, began to rise and headed toward the smoking room. Korra stood up as well, deciding to retire to her bedroom for the evening, and Asami followed soon afterward. Jinora wished more than anything that she could go with the men to smoke because she couldn't even remember when her last cigarette had been, but knowing that if she did so LingShi's reputation would be annihilated—therefore hers would be too.

Her life was so complicated, and lately, it seemed like every action had been dictated on whether or not it would please her fiancé. If she went to the bathroom, she had to constantly second-guess herself and wonder if she'd made the right decision to go without him.

"Are you done, darling?" LingShi inquired.

"Hmm, what? Oh, yes, I'm done," Jinora said, looking up at her fiancé, smiling, and then looked back down at the remains of her dessert. At one point the strawberry pie on her plate had actually looked appetizing, but now she would've rather done anything than eat it. She hadn't had much of an appetite all day—she attributed it to her stomach hurting. "I'll stay here, though, with the women."

LingShi nodded, although she strongly suspected he was resisting the urge to roll his eyes. With that, he took off into the crowd of people rising from their chairs, tempted sorely by the thought of brandy and first class worthy cigars.

"Jinora," Suyin said, smiling and leaning forward in her chair, "have you given any thought to your wedding recently?"

"I think about it all the time, Ms. Beifong," was her slightly sarcastic response. After all, how could she not when it was all anyone and everyone was talking about? The topic to end all topics, Jinora Gyatso to marry LingShi Zhang. She suspected half of the people on the ship had invitations to her wedding already. Jinora composed herself, making an effort to still be polite. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I was just wondering about the reception and who you else were planning on inviting. I know that my sister and I are invited, we received our invitations a while ago, but who else?"

"Yes," Lin deadpanned, rolling her eyes, "we've been ever so eager."

Finally, someone who had a vague sense of sarcasm. Jinora's respect for the older woman rose.

"Lin, stop." Suyin laughed. "My apologies, she can be a bit sarcastic at times."

Luckily, Mother intervened and began talking about the wedding reception, keeping up a steady conversation about the flower arrangements and which reverend was completing the service. Lin looked at Jinora in pity, but she didn't notice, too busy staring at her plate. The babble about such inconsequential things didn't matter to her, not in the slightest. Who cared about flowers when she was going to be sold into glorified slavery?

She stood up, unable to bear it any longer. "Excuse me," she said, beginning to leave the table when Lin grabbed her arm, nearly startling her out of her skin.

"What're you doing, Ms. Beifong?" Jinora asked, thoroughly startled. _Spirits, she doesn't want to know more about the wedding, does she?_

"Just don't do anything stupid, kid," the older woman muttered out of the corner of her mouth before diving back into the conversation so quickly and easily that Jinora wasn't positive that Lin had spoken at all.

Before she could waste any more time thinking about how cryptic Lin's actions were, Jinora walked away, going up the stairs and down a corridor. The stewards nodded at her, and she smiled back, trying to remain composed. She ducked into a bathroom, where she locked herself in, slid down the door and placed her head between her knees, sobbing and trying to breathe at the same time.

_Oh, Spirits, I can't do this. I don't want to do this._

She couldn't do this any longer. She couldn't handle the pressure.

Jinora opened the door and ran out along the promenade deck, nearly running into a couple that looked shocked at her emotional display. Crying, she tore off her pearl necklace and stuffed it into a potted plant, shaking with hatred and humiliation.

_I can't do this anymore._

* * *

><p><em>I think what sent me over the edge was the way that my mother and Suyin were discussing my life, as if I were a doll that could bend to their will without any say at all. My future was a stern monotony of the same narrow-minded people, the same cotillions and parties, the same mindless gossip—year after year after year. It was almost like I was standing on a cliff with no one to pull me back to safety. I felt like there was no one who cared about me, or even noticed my existence beyond being LingShi's fiancée.<em>

_I hated it more than anything in the world, and I wanted to end things. To end my life. To hell with my mother, with LingShi, with the entire Ayre Corporation, I'd thought. I didn't care anymore._

_I needed to escape._

* * *

><p>Ever since Tahno had discovered where the crew kept their alcohol, he'd swiped it like a professional and had offered it to practically all the men in third class. Kai wasn't much of a drinker—he knew what alcohol did to people on the streets, turning them into completely different people once they'd gone past five glasses of beer. He didn't intend to ever become one of those people.<p>

So while Skoochy, Tahno, and the other third classers went and got rip-roaring drunk down below in their dining room, dancing to fast-paced guitar music, Kai had gone up on deck and laid himself on a bench near the stern, gazing up at the night sky and smoking a cigarette. The stars always calmed him, because ever since his parents had died the pinpricks of light up above were his only constant. After all, weren't the constellations the same over Ba Sing Se? Or in Capital City? They reassured him more than anything.

Someone stumbled past his bench, and he sat up straight as he saw that it was a woman, and the woman was crying. Sobbing, really, judging by the way her frame was shaking like crazy and how loud her sobs were in the stillness of the night.

Kai stood up, squinting into the distance as he blew out his cigarette and tossed it aside. _Could it be?_

As the girl passed under a lantern, he felt as though he'd been poleaxed. It _was _her. The girl. It was the same girl that he'd seen that afternoon on the promenade deck. _What's she doing out here, anyways? And what happened to her to make her cry like that?_

He followed her and watched from the shadows as she slammed against the base of the stern flagpole and clung to it, her breath hitching in an occasional sob, which she kept trying to suppress. Kai's heart leapt into his throat as the Girl started to clumsily climb over the railing, her movements slow and methodical.

_Spirits, she's going to jump._

With that abrupt realization, Kai moved closer as she turned her back from the railing, facing out toward the blackness of the sea. He could see below her the propellers churning out white foam that trailed off toward the horizon. She leaned forward, her dress and hair whipping in the wind. Her grip on the railing loosened.

He had to stop her. He had to say something!

"Stop!" Her head whipped around at the sound of his voice, her long brown hair flying around her face. Her cheeks were flushed and stained with tears. Obviously she'd thought that she'd been alone. _Well, too bad for her. I can't let her do this._ "Don't do it," he said, sounding stupid even to himself. That line never worked on suicide jumpers. "Look, you don't have to do this."

"Go away!" Her voice was loud and shrill, and Kai nearly recoiled. "Go away, I—I want to be alone. Leave me alone and forget you ever saw me."

"I'd let you be alone, see, there's just one thing stopping me," Kai said conversationally. "Well, the fact is that you're kinda dangling over the edge of a ship here. If you go over, I'm a witness, and I'll be in some pretty deep trouble with the Master-at-Arms." He shook off his jacket and tossed it on the ship deck.

The girl looked around at him, as if she was surprised that he was still there. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" he countered. "I'm preparing to go after you."

"You—you can't." She sounded unsure of herself, and Kai didn't know whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing. "The fall alone would kill you."

"Hey, I may not look it, but I'm a pretty good swimmer. The water's freezing and all, but I'm prepared to do it."

"Freezing?" Her voice quivered just the slightest bit, and Kai realized that the girl was absolutely terrified now. Her gaze flickered down to the water below, and the waves were roiling and crashing into each other so many feet down. It suddenly struck him just how young she looked. How old was she? Eighteen? Nineteen? "How—how cold is it?"

"Like I said, freezing, maybe a couple of degrees below," he told her, stuffing his hands in his pockets, trying to remain casual. Spirits, he wished he knew what to say. "I'm telling you, it's not worth it to go in there. You're going to die before you even hit the water from the angle you're at. See the propellers? Hit them, even a little, and you'll pinwheel into the ocean like a macabre puppet cut from its strings."

He wasn't an expert, but that time he knew that what he'd said was wrong. Kai wanted to slap himself.

The girl looked over at him again, this time scrutinizing him like an art critic inspecting a famous painting. "You don't know what I've gone through, though. If you had, you'd encourage me for doing… well, doing _this_. It's the easy way out, believe me."

"Even if it's the worst thing ever," he said, trying to sound convincing, "it's not worth it to die like this. Life's too precious to throw it all away over problems that can be solved. You don't want to do this, Miss. Just give me your hand."

She sniffled, but said nothing in return. He assumed she was just thinking things over. He hoped so.

"My name's Kai," he said. "Kai Wen."

The girl's brows furrowed, as if she wasn't sure what he was trying to imply, or if he was trying to imply anything, but she shook it off once she seemed to realize that he didn't have an ulterior motive. "I'm J-Jinora," she introduced, if not a bit awkwardly. "Jinora Gyatso."

Kai was still having trouble wrapping his mind around that last name. He couldn't even figure out how to spell it, much less how to say it again. "I'm going to have to write that down," he muttered under his breath. She giggled, and the tips of his ears flushed as he extended his hand toward her once more. "Go on, take my hand."

"A-all—alright," she said. She unfastened one hand from the railing and reached it around toward him. He grabbed it firmly in his, inwardly marveling at how well they fit together…almost like two puzzle pieces.

Maybe the cold was getting to him.

The following couple of seconds were chaotic, and Kai couldn't remember exactly what had happened. He assumed that as she started to climb, her dress had gotten in the way, and the next thing Kai knew Jinora was dangling off the railing by her free hand. Kai was jerked forward like he'd been dragged by wild ostrich-horses, bending nearly in half as he struggled with her weight, suddenly so much when a few seconds ago it had been so little. "_HELP_!" she screamed. "HELP ME!"

"Hold on!" Kai ordered, trying desperately not to freak out. That wouldn't bode well for either of them. "Just keep holding onto my hand, okay? I've got you. I can pull you over."

Jinora shrieked, almost on reflex, and Kai nearly flinched. Spirits, were his palms always this sweaty? "Hey! Hold on to me. It's okay. I've got you."

"K-Kai," she stammered, breathing harshly. Her grip on his hand felt like he'd gotten his hand stuck in a desk drawer, but he didn't dare say a thing. "Pl—please, Kai, I d-don't want to die. Please, help me!"

"You're going to be fine, Jinora," he promised. "Look, I'm going to pull you over, okay? You—you're going to be fine. I won't let go."

Kai braced himself on the railing with his free hand, trying to lift her over with every ounce of strength in his entire body. He couldn't let go of her. He'd made her a promise. With his previous words echoing in his mind, he clutched Jinora's dress in a death grip and, while she failed, managed to get her over the railing. They fell together onto the deck into a tangled heap, Kai slightly on top of her. He could feel her heart beating through her clothes.

"What's all this, then?" One of the officers had run up to them, looking barely older than Jinora, and Kai had a feeling that he knew exactly what they were thinking. A shaggy-haired third class man on top of a rich-looking young woman in a torn dress? It was a wonder they hadn't shot him on the spot. "Bloody hellfire. Min, Aiki, fetch the Master-at-Arms!" The officer glared at Kai like he'd evolved from pond scum. "Don't even _think _about going anywhere. You have a lot of explaining to do."

Kai exhaled heavily. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath.

Jinora curled up next to him, inhaling Kai's scent, and tried to block out the world.

**Thanks for reading, guys, and don't forget to review! The next chapter will be up soon, I promise. :)**


	5. The Misunderstanding

"**The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie **_**Titanic**_**: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter Four

**177 AG**

Immediately after issuing the order for the men to get the Master-at-Arms, the officer that had found Kai lying on top of Jinora had forcefully picked him up and had nearly thrown him away from her. Jinora didn't make a move to help—rather, she seemed practically catatonic. He couldn't find it in him to blame her: if he'd gone through what she had, he suspected he wouldn't be so willing to say or do anything.

Either or, he didn't appreciate being treated like vermin. He'd dealt with that enough from the police and other people back in the Earth Kingdom.

After what seemed like an infinite amount of time, with the officer breathing down his neck, the Master-at-Arms appeared, along with a man that looked in his late twenties or early thirties who wore a clean, freshly pressed suit. First class, for sure, for why else would he have come? He was tall, with dark hair, and rather thin as well—although Kai could tell that even though the man didn't look particularly threatening, he could go from docile to dangerous at the drop of a hat.

"For the love of Tue and La." Kai sighed in exasperation as the Master-at-Arms frowned at him and advanced, wound his arms behind his back and placed a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. "Look, this is all just a big—"

"What is your name, boy?" the Master-at-Arms grumbled before ordering one of his men to assist Jinora to a bench, where she was wrapped in a blanket and offered some brandy, which she refused.

"My name's Kai," he answered, frowning upon being called _boy_. Although to be fair, the Master-at-Arms looked to be at least fifty years old, and to him, a man of eighteen was a boy. "Kai Wen, sir. Like I was saying, this is all just a big misunderstanding. I didn't do anything."

"Uh huh." The officer that had reported him snorted derisively. "Right. We found him on top of her with her dress ripped and his jacket off. If that ain't a bad sign, I don't know what is."

"For the love of—I did _nothing_!" Kai wanted to throw a fit but knew that it wouldn't look very well on his possibly expanding criminal record. "I. Did. Nothing. You have got to believe me."

Judging by the way that the other man suddenly grabbed Kai by the lapels, he wasn't being believed. "I'll believe you did nothing when they shovel snow in hell. What possessed you to put your hands on my fiancée?!" _She's his fiancée? Hot damn. Why didn't she say anything, for Raava's sake?_

Kai glanced at Jinora, looking for help to come up with a possible story, and he was turned back around forcefully. "Look at _me_, you filth, not at her! What the hell did you think you were doing?!"

This managed to provoke a reaction from Jinora, who stood up and tried to grab the man's arm. "LingShi," she said, clasping his arm, "LingShi, please stop! Mr. Wen didn't do anything wrong. He isn't guilty of anything except saving my life."

"Saving your life?!" repeated the man—LingShi. It was plain that they held no affection for one another, soon to be engaged or not. "How was it—how did this happen, Jinora?"

"Yes, how did it happen?"

With a look at Kai, pleading for him to play along, Jinora rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly and wrapped herself in her shawl. "Well…It was...It was very stupid of me, really. I was leaning over the railing and I slipped." Their eyes met, and Kai felt a rush of heat go up his neck. "I was leaning way over, to see the...um, the…propellers. And I slipped, see, and I would have gone overboard. I was fearful for my life, but thank the Spirits Mr. Wen here saved me—he almost went over himself, risking his life for me, LingShi."

LingShi didn't look like he believed her. "You wanted to see the propellers? You know that women and machinery don't mix, darling."

"I do know, LingShi, but…I was curious, and I couldn't help myself." A flush rose in Jinora's cheeks.

"Was that the way of it, Mr. Wen?" the Master-at-Arms inquired of Kai, crossing his arms over his chest.

Jinora was practically begging him with her eyes not to say what really happened. _Tue and La on a broomstick, what did my evening turn into? Maybe I should have gone drinking with Skoochy and Tahno and them. _"Uh, yeah. Yes, that was pretty much it," Kai said, locking eyes with her. _There, now we have a secret, you and me. I hope you're happy, Miss Gyatso._

"Well!" the Master-at-Arms exclaimed jovially. "The boy's a hero then. Good for you, son, well done!" The cuffs on Kai's wrist were unlocked, and he flexed them, thinking how grateful he was that he wasn't going to spend the evening—and the rest of the time on the ship—in a prison cell. _Dear Spirits, wait until Skoochy hears about this..._

"Let's get you inside, dear," LingShi said, rubbing his hand over Jinora's arm. "Why, you're freezing."

"One thing, though, darling," Jinora said, stopping in her tracks. "Do you not think that Mr. Wen deserves some compensation for his actions?"

"Perhaps you should give something to the boy," the Master-at-Arms reasoned. "He did save Ms. Gyatso's life, after all, Mr. Zhang."

"Oh, right." LingShi didn't look particularly happy as he reached into his wallet and pulled out a handful of yuans, waving it in Kai's face. "A twenty should do it, shouldn't it?"

"No, sir, that's okay. I don't need your money," he lied through his teeth. The truth was he needed the money more than anything if he and Skoochy were going to survive in Republic City, but he wasn't about to accept a pity gift from a pompous windbag like LingShi Zhang.

Jinora looked as though she'd eaten something disgusting—reminding Kai of what he and Skoochy had looked after their first hangovers. "Well, LingShi, is twenty yuans the going rate for saving your wife-to-be?"

LingShi looked like he'd sucked on a lemon. Kai exchanged a quick grin with Jinora before he realized that the other man had noticed. "What would you like me to do, love?" LingShi inquired, placing his hands on his hips. "I don't have a suggestion—short of money, what can we offer this…gentleman?"

"I have an idea." Jinora took a step closer to Kai, her head tilted to the side. "Have you ever experienced a ten course meal, Mr. Wen?"

_Why the hell is she asking me this? _Bemused, Kai shook his head. "Um, no. Ma'am."

"Would you like to?"

"Do you think that would be proper, Jinora?" LingShi snickered, but with a stern look from Jinora, relented. "Well, then, I suppose my lovely fiancée has invited you to dinner tomorrow. You can regale our group with your heroic tale, Mr. Wen. Please accept this; it'd be quite rude of you if you didn't. I insist."

"Sure," Kai finally said, making direct eye contact with LingShi. "I suppose it'd be rude of me if I didn't. Count me in."

"Lovely." LingShi's expression looked as though he thought it were anything but lovely. "Glad that's settled, then. Come along, dear; let's get you back to your room." He put a protective arm around her shoulders and the two walked away.

Kai let out a sigh of relief, and the adrenaline still coursing through his system gave him the courage to whistle at the officer who'd arrested him. "Hey," he said, taking his hands out of the pockets of his coat. "Mind if I bum a cigarette?"

The officer loaned him a box from the folds of his coat, which Kai took three cigarettes from, lighting one and sticking the other two behind his ears. "Thanks," he said, making his way to leave.

"You know," said the officer conversationally, "I'm very impressed with your actions this evening, Mr. Wen."

Kai tilted his head to the side, wondering what the man was up to.

"I'm particularly impressed with the way that you managed to get your jacket off and still save Ms. Gyatso from falling." The officer's eyes were cold and hard. "It all happened so suddenly, according to the young lady."

A bead of sweat formed over Kai's upper lip, but he didn't say anything. He refused to, because after all, he'd promised Jinora that he wouldn't say anything. He wouldn't have anyways, especially not to the man that had nearly arrested him.

"Have a nice night."

Kai walked away, thanking the Spirits that he wasn't spending the rest of his in a prison cell.

* * *

><p>Back in her room, after her mother had left and finished berating her for her actions, Jinora couldn't help but think of the events that had led to her near fall, and every time she thought of what might have happened if Kai Wen hadn't been there, she kept going cold inside. What had she been thinking, trying to commit suicide? That was a fool's way out. Whether she liked it or not, she had to sweat things out.<p>

So she thought about her rescuer. Kai Wen, with his shaggy undercut, crooked smile and rumpled clothing. His dark skin and piercing green eyes. Kai Wen, her savior. _He cared about me enough to save my life. _The thought still unnerved her. How could that have been?

Either or, she'd have to thank Kai. It'd be improper if she didn't.

Not to mention that she really wanted to see him again.

_Alright, _she decided. _Tomorrow morning I'll go find him in steerage. That shouldn't be too hard, right? And if I can't find him, then I'll just ask him tomorrow night at dinner. I think that'll be alright._

She couldn't help but wonder why he'd done it. She was no one to him; they'd never met before then. He didn't owe her anything. So why had he done it? Why had he also refused payment for his services? Had it just been because it was from LingShi? Or had his actions genuinely been out of the goodness of his heart?

As she pulled her nightgown over her head, still ruminating over Kai, she nearly startled out of her skin when she saw LingShi standing in her doorway, reflected in the mirror on top of her vanity. "LingShi!" she said in surprise, putting a hand over her heart. "Goodness, you scared me. What's the matter?"

"I'm not stupid, Jinora." _Oh, no, this can't be good. _"That being said, I know that you've been feeling down as of late, and I have a good guess as to why." He handed her a large black velvet jewelry case. "Take it, Jinora."

Numbly, she took it. "What is it?" she asked.

"I intended to save this until the engagement gala next week. But I thought tonight you needed it more, perhaps a reminder of my feelings for you. I hoped it might lift your spirits a little."

She opened the box and couldn't help but release a sharp inhale of shock. "LingShi, this is…this is too much. This is a diamond!" she said, in absolute awe. The blue of the diamond hanging from the chain was dark—so dark that it became very nearly black in the center. It was an oval shape, and it made her heart speed up. "LingShi…is it—"

"Yes, it is. The Eye of the Sea. It can be traced back to the first Fire Lady, my love, as you well know. She wore it on her wedding day, as a symbol of her fiancé's love." He took the necklace and placed it around her throat, tying it in the back for her. "It's for royalty, Jinora. And we are royalty."

"It's heavy, dear. Very heavy."

"I know. But I want you to always wear it. Soon, it'll feel like a part of you...it will be the item that anchors you to me." His fingers caressed her neck and throat, and she nearly shuddered at how cold his fingers were. "Open your heart to me, Jinora," he whispered in her ear, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up straight. "Your mother won't let us now, but after our wedding…you'll open your heart to me, one way or another."

Even after he left, it took a long time for her hands to stop shaking.

* * *

><p><em>I remember the next morning like the back of my hand. I'd eaten breakfast with my family…and LingShi had refused to leave my side. He was trying to act sweet, I knew, trying to make me do what he most wanted, but I'd long since grown impervious to his charms. I managed to convince my mother that I wanted to take a stroll around the deck for the day, and after a copious amount of begging, she agreed. Why, I didn't know, but I didn't care.<em>

_So I went up on the deck and took a stroll all the way to the staircase that led down to the steerage dining room. And as I was there, I felt so nervous…even more than I had on the railing with LingShi, Kai, and the Master-at-Arms._

_After convincing myself of my actions, I ducked under the barrier and went downstairs._

* * *

><p>Kai knew that their dining hall was stark and dirty by comparison to the clean opulence of first class, but he liked the crowded, raucous place nonetheless. There were mothers with babies, kids running between the benches yelling in several languages and being scolded in several more. Old women yelled, men played chess, and some girls were doing needlepoint and reading dime novels. Tahno and a few others had managed to get a piano upright and were playing and singing along to a country tune that Kai vaguely recognized.<p>

Skoochy had wandered off around the same time that three boys had scrambled around chasing a huge ratroach under the benches, trying to whack it with a shoe. The boys had sufficiently entertained most of third class with their antics before their parents took them away.

On Kai's lap sat Qin Xi, the little girl from the deck that he'd drawn yesterday. He had acquainted himself with her parents, and Qin had taken a liking to him once she caught sight of her own portrait, hardly believing it was her. Considering herself a wonderful artist, she helped him draw funny faces in his sketchbook.

"What do you think, Mister Kai?"

Kai had to smile at the childish imitation of him, Qin, Skoochy and Tahno. "Well, I'll be darned." He ruffled her charcoal-colored hair. "That's good, sweetheart, that's really good."

She beamed at him. "Thank you, Mister Kai!"

Qin's father, Zhixin, strolled up to them not long after, followed by Qin's mother, Kumi. "Come along, Qin," Kumi said, smiling, "it's time to be going. Let's say goodbye to Mister Kai, now."

Obediently, Qin placed a quick kiss on Kai's cheek and gave him a bashful smile before standing up to follow her mother and father. "Goodbye, Mister Kai!"

"Bye, Qin." Kai grinned, giving the little girl a quick wave before leaning back on the bench.

With the new space available, Tahno slouched next to him, peering over Kai's shoulder at his sketchbook. "Those are pretty damn good drawings, man," Tahno said, actually sounding sincere for the first time. "Seriously, sell them! You could make a fortune!"

Kai snorted. "Who would I sell them to? Half the people here can barely afford their own tickets, let alone a second-class portrait. And the first class would shoot me before I could offer."

Tahno rolled his eyes. "You can't tell me that you never thought of selling them before."

"Skoochy has. He kept pestering me to do that when we were in the Earth Kingdom." Kai rolled his eyes fondly. "Says I'd make a fortune too."

"Hate to say it, but he isn't wrong."

"Hey, look, speak of the devil."

Skoochy had come over to Kai and Tahno holding the hand of a young woman with short brown hair and pale skin. "Kai, Tahno, meet Jaya Li," he introduced. "Jaya, this is who I was telling you about—my best friend, Kai, and we met Tahno yesterday."

Jaya nodded, smiling at them, and said something in an indecipherable accent.

Kai grabbed Skoochy's arm and pulled his friend close to him so he could whisper into his ear. "Skooch," he said, still smiling so Jaya wouldn't think anything was wrong, "does she speak...y'know—"

"Uh, no." Skoochy shrugged. "Nope. Does it matter?"

Kai opened his mouth to say something and then closed it, deciding against it. _Skoochy must be serious about this girl if he's introducing her to me and Tahno. He's never done that before._ He let go of Skoochy and made room on the bench for him and Jaya, smiling at both of them. "Nice to meet you," he said.

Tahno rolled his eyes and slouched back on the bench. "Yeah, yeah, nice to meet you too," he said, tossing his bangs out of his face.

Skoochy elbowed Kai in the ribs, and Kai was about to swear at him when his mind suddenly went blank. He blinked, sure that he had to be hallucinating, because there was no way in hell that the girl from last night was in the third class dining hall with all of them. Hadn't she been pulled away by her fiancé?

He found himself standing as she made her way closer to them. Skoochy looked discombobulated. Jaya looked frightened and a bit awed. Tahno, from his spot on the bench, looked like he'd witnessed the second coming of Raava and Vaatu.

Whatever look Kai had on his face, he assumed it wasn't much better than his friends'.

The girl—_Jinora_, he remembered her name was—wore a yellow sundress with a shawl wrapped around her shoulders, and looked more out of place than ever among the woman there that were wearing ragged skirts and hand-me-down shirts. Her light brown hair flowed down to the small of her back, and Kai ran a hand through his own awkwardly, not even remembering the last time he'd washed it.

"Hello, Mr. Wen," she said, giving him a quick smile.

Kai nearly fainted on the spot. It felt like all of third class was holding their breath and waiting on him to say something. "Hello, again," he croaked.

The piano music started playing up again, and it seemed as though everything had gone back to normal. Except she was still there. Spirits, it wasn't a hallucination.

"May I speak with you?" Jinora asked, prim and proper, her voice a thousand times more cultured-sounding than the entirety of third class.

Kai snorted. "Uh, yeah." He gave a quick nod toward Tahno, Skoochy and Jaya, who nodded politely, back at him and Jinora. He tried to convey to her that the gossip would no doubt be all over the ship by the next morning if they talked down here.

Jinora looked like she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. "May I speak with you in _private_, Mr. Wen?" she enunciated.

"Yes, of course," Kai said with a smirk, reaching down to grab his sketchbook. Tahno, from his position, looked like he was trying to look up Jinora's dress, like she was some cheap floozy who'd actually give him the time of day. _He'd better let his own train of thought derail, if he knows what's good for him. LingShi would kill him without trying. _"After you, Miss Gyatso."

Jinora smiled at him and turned around, beginning to walk toward the staircase. The second her back was turned Kai playfully punched Tahno's shoulder, grinned at Skoochy, saluted the rest of the stunned third-class passengers and followed Jinora up the stairs.

**Thanks for reading, guys, and don't forget to review! :)**


	6. The Private Conversation

**"The Ship of Dreams, they called it.** **And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie Titanic: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter Five

**177 AG**

Once they ascended the stairwell and made it onto the promenade deck, Jinora exchanged a quick look with her walking companion, who appeared blasé and a bit frightened. His hands were shoved in the pockets of his torn trousers, and Jinora couldn't help but remember last night, when his hands had been the only thing keeping her from plummeting to her untimely death.

"Shall we take a walk, then?" she found herself saying, her arms dangling limply at her sides. The idea she'd had to just speak with him in private had vanished in the wind now that they were in public. "It won't be long."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, alright," he said with a nod, and they set off, their shoes tapping an odd pattern on the wooden deck. They passed old and young people reading and talking in steamer chairs, all in first class attire. Jinora even recognized some of them from dinner the night before. Some of them glanced curiously between her and Kai, obviously wondering how such a mismatched couple came to be.

"So..." Kai's voice was curious as they came to a full halt, overlooking the ocean from the aft railing. "What did you want to talk to me about, exactly?"

Despite herself, she chuckled. "You cut right to the chase, don't you?"

"No, I—I'm fine with talking to you. All I'm asking is why you want to talk on the promenade deck. If privacy is what you want, you're not going to get it up here." Kai paused. "Or down in steerage for that matter, now that I think about it. Skoochy and Tahno would've had it all over the ship by lunchtime."

Ignoring the mention of the two names she didn't recognize (but she would've bet any number of yuans that Skoochy and Tahno were the two boys sitting next to him on the bench in the dining hall—even if she didn't know which was which), Jinora pressed on, clasping her hands together. "Privacy's not what I'm after," she said. "Well, not completely, anyways. I just needed to speak with you...more specifically about your actions last night."

Kai, for some reason, seemed to be disgruntled by that. "Why? Is this about money? Because I already said I won't accept any—"

"No, no, it's not about money," Jinora said hastily, shaking her head. A few tendrils of her black hair escaped from behind her ears, and she tucked them back impatiently. "Although believe me, Mr. Wen, you're entirely deserving of money from your heroic actions. I...I just wanted to thank you. Not just for—for pulling me back. But for your discretion."

Kai appeared taken aback at that, something that Jinora could understand. It wasn't every day you met someone without an ulterior motive. "Oh," he said. "Well. Uh. You're welcome."

She could feel her face heating up—luckily it was warm enough outside that the flush in her cheeks could be attributed to the heat from the sun. "Mr. Wen—"

"Kai," he instantly corrected, wrinkling his nose slightly. "Just Kai."

"Yes, uh, Kai. I feel like such an idiot. It took me all morning and most of last night to get up the nerve to face you." She didn't know whether it was proper to say so, but couldn't help herself as the words slipped out of her mouth without her control. "And, well, here I am." She punctuated the end of her statement with a vague wave, luckily not decapitating anyone while she was at it.

"Here you are, yeah." Kai nodded, his grip tight on the book he carried as if he were afraid that it was going to fly away from him. "Can I ask you something?"

She nodded, unable to speak for a moment.

"Why did you..." He stumbled over the words as though he wasn't sure how to phrase it. "Why did you want to kill yourself?"

Jinora winced at the gruff wording of his question, knowing that she'd have to answer it at some point. She'd just been hoping that he wouldn't press it. "I don't...it wasn't just one thing. It was everything. It was them, it was their whole world. It was my whole world. And I was trapped in it, like an insect in amber. I had to get away from it all, and I thought that, well, that jumping was the only way to do so." She avoided eye contact with Kai. "Spirits, I'm such a fool."

Kai changed the subject. "That one guy last night, is he one of them? The one who insulted me."

"What?" Jinora had no clue what he was talking about, and then she understood. Unless he was referencing the Master-at-Arms, then he had to mean LingShi. "Oh, you mean LingShi. Yes, he is."

"You're his fiancée, right?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She showed him the ring adorning her finger, and he let out a piercing whistle, his eyes widening at the size of the rock. Jinora had been amazed the first time she'd laid eyes on it, so she understood his shock.

"Spirits. From the size of that thing, you'd have sank straight to the bottom," Kai remarked, and they both released a faint chuckle at her expense. A passing steward scowled at Kai, who was clearly not a first class passenger, but Jinora just glared at him until he went away. Kai didn't notice. "Were you also upset because you have to marry this guy?"

She said nothing.

"You don't have to marry him, you know. Not if you don't want to."

Jinora sighed, already growing weary of this point in the conversation. She already spoke about LingShi enough with the first class members—all she wanted was one day where no one spoke to her regarding her fiancé. "Kai, please don't judge me until you've seen the world I have to live in."

He shrugged. "Well, I will tonight, at any rate." Jinora smiled slightly, thinking that at least tonight's dinner wouldn't be so dreadfully boring. At least she would have someone to talk to. "You know," Kai said, "I figured your fiancé wouldn't want you to speak with me at all. Wouldn't want you to mingle with vermin like me, I mean."

Her jaw clenched in irritation. It still made her a bit angry in the back of her mind to remember what LingShi had said to Kai. "The opinions of my fiancé are _not_ my own and I would greatly thank you to not get them confused again, Mr. Wen."

Kai held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, looking mollified. "No, no, I know that! What I mean is—well, I know—I know you're not anything...you and LingShi...your opinions aren't the same. I know. Sorry for that."

"That's alright, I suppose." Jinora decided to let it go. After all, it was plain to her that Kai meant nothing by his statement. "Just...please don't mention his viewpoints again. They've always been a bit—well, skewed, if you don't mind my saying so."

"Not at all. That much was clear last night." She watched as Kai took out a cigarette and reached into his pocket for a lighter. Her addiction getting the best of her, Jinora asked, "May I?"

To his credit, Kai didn't even look taken aback. "Sure." Kai handed her a cigarette, pulled out his lighter and lit his, then leaned over to light hers. "How long have you been smoking?"

"Hm." Jinora took a long drag from her cigarette, relishing in the familiar taste. The nicotine began to calm her almost instantly, and she blew out a misshapen grey smoke ring through pursed lips. It was only when she was watching the smoke dissipate in the wind that she realized Kai had asked her a question. "I've smoked on and off since I was about thirteen."

Kai wrinkled his nose as he thought. "So, six years now?"

"Only four. I'm seventeen."

"Seventeen?" Kai looked appropriately amazed. _"Really?_ I figured you were at least nineteen."

"No, I'm seventeen." With the cigarette burnt nearly down to the nub, she dropped it into the ocean and watched it fall. "How old are you?"

"I'm, uh, eighteen." Kai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, then shifted the book that he was carrying up to the crook of his elbow. Jinora couldn't help but wonder what was so special about that book of his. "I'll be nineteen in a few months."

Looking for another topic, any other topic than the awkward repetition of their ages, she indicated his book, which she'd been curious about since she'd noticed him carrying it. "What's that?" Perhaps her question hadn't been particularly well-worded, but at least it got them off the subject of their age.

"Oh." Kai looked down at the book in surprise, like he'd forgotten it was there. "Just my sketchbook. I've had it for ages. I st—I borrowed it without asking when I was around fifteen. I was too poor to even feed myself, but I had a sketchbook and some pencils. I drew portraits in the Lower Ring for a couple of yuans. Found a way to feed myself."

"May I take a look?" Jinora asked, moving closer and grabbing it from his hands. Kai laughed and gestured for her to go ahead as she sat down on a deck chair, smoothing the folds of her skirt down before opening the sketchbook to the first page. It was a rather simple drawing of a woman from the back, her dress flapping in the wind. She waved to someone in the distance, and one hand was clamped on top of her head to keep a large hat from flying away in the wind. As she turned the pages, she noticed a small, half-finished sketch of an old man's hands, a sleeping polar bear dog, and a father and daughter at the rail of the _Titanic._ The details were intricate; the faces were luminous and alive. Jinora almost wanted to touch them, but couldn't make herself do it. She was afraid of smearing the charcoal and ruining the image.

"I know they're not spectacular, but..."

"No, they're wonderful!" Jinora immediately said, completely genuine. "Kai, this book is amazing. These sketches are a celebration of the human condition."

"Thank you." Kai gave her a tentative, crooked smile, and she felt something strange settle into her stomach. "People didn't think much of them in the Earth Kingdom, though..."

"How could they not?" Jinora said. "These are wonderful." Eager to see more of his creations, she flipped forward a few pages, marveling at the details until she stopped in her tracks. "Well, well, what do we have here?"

A flush rose up her cheeks as she noticed that she'd stumbled upon a series of nudes. As much as she wanted to turn the page and forget that she'd seen them, she couldn't. Jinora slowly became transfixed by the languid beauty Kai had created. His nudes were soulful, real, with expressive hands and eyes. They felt more like portraits than studies of the human form, almost uncomfortably intimate. Jinora raised the book higher as some strollers went by, not wanting them to see what she was looking at.

"I warned you," Kai said, blushing furiously. His left eye twitched and he bit his lip, unable to make eye contact with her. Jinora noticed how close they were to one another, and couldn't help but think that Kai's eyes were the most beautiful shade of green she'd ever seen. "They, um...that's the good thing about the Lower Ring, you know. Lots of girls willing to take their clothes off. The Fire Nation ones were pretty adamant about it."

"These were drawn from life?" Jinora asked, completely stunned. She couldn't help but wonder how that had come to be. Had Kai approached a girl on the street and simply asked her to pose for a portrait in the nude? "Did you like this woman? You used her several times."

"Yeah, um, that's Xiong." Kai pointed at the sketch of Xiong standing near a window in nothing but a pair of lace underwear. "She...she was perfectly fine with sitting still for hours on end, or stripping down to nothing just for the fun of it. She had a beautiful smile."

The corners of Jinora's mouth quirked upwards in a devilish smirk. "I think you must have had a love affair with her, Kai."

"No, no!" Kai denied. "Just with her smile."

She looked up from the drawings, placing a hand on his. "You're very talented, Kai. You...you really see people the way they are."

"I see you," he said simply, his green eyes on her brown ones.

Her stomach tingled again. She closed the book and gave it back to him. "And?"

"And nothing," Kai said, standing up. He offered Jinora his hand, which she took, and pulled her to her feet. "But you wouldn't have jumped."

* * *

><p>Jinora and Kai strolled past the few people still lounging on deck chairs in the slanting late-afternoon light. Stewards scurried to serve tea or hot cocoa to those who'd asked for it, and the ship cut across the hungry, black-blue waves like a knife through a piece of paper. "You know," Jinora said, relaxed and excited and feeling more free than she had in years. "It's always been a dream of mine to just chuck everything away and live in a garret, poor and free. To start over, fresh and new!" She twirled around the deck like a ballerina, her skirts swirling behind her.<p>

"It's not all it's cracked up to be," Kai warned, although he was smiling as wide as she was. "No place to sleep, no hot water...food is scarce and shelter is even more hard to come by."

Jinora was chagrined, but still pressed on. "Yes, I suppose that is difficult. But there's something in me, Kai. I _feel_ it. I don't belong in this world, it's not cut out for me. But I don't know what I should do, whether I should be an artist, or, I don't know...a dancer. Or like Ginger Zhang, the mover actress!" She leapt forward, landed deftly and whirled like a dervish. Then her face lit up as she thought of the perfect career. "Or a historian!"

Kai snickered, and she glared at him. "Hey, I'm not making fun of you!" he assured her. "I'm just wondering how you leapt from a mover actress to a historian. Lofty career goals, that's all."

"I've always loved history," she admitted. "It's always fascinated me, every bit of it. And some people didn't even know they were making history when they made it, they were just fighting for what they believed it! And a historian could just spend days poring over historical artifacts and making notes about them and interviewing people and, well, it just sounds absolutely fascinating."

"Well, from what I hear, Ba Sing Se is a great place to study history," Kai said, his hands in his pockets again. "I know a guy who knows a guy whose cousin went to the university there and studied history. Jin Fei, I think his name is. But I heard through the grapevine that it's a good school, near the WanShiTong Library..." His words were drowned out by Jinora's gasp.

"The WanShiTong Library?" Jinora inquired, bouncing up and down in excitement. Her hands were clasped together. "I've always wanted to go there! It's said to be the greatest library in the world! Is it true that they have books about the locations of the ancient Spirit portals?"

"I, uh, I wouldn't know," Kai said slowly, looking ashamed. "I—I can't read. I never learned how."

"Oh." Jinora was taken aback—she'd always thought that everyone was granted the amazing ability to read. The thought of someone not knowing how startled her beyond compare. But she recovered. "That's alright, I can teach you! Maybe if we see each other again after tonight, I can..." She trailed off, knowing that that probably wasn't going to happen. Her mother and LingShi would keep her on a tight leash until her wedding, and then she'd cross the ocean again in _Titanic's_ sister ship, the _Olympic,_ as Jinora Zhang.

She hated the sound of it more than anything.

Kai beamed and nodded. "That'd be great, Jinora," he said kindly. "I've always wanted to learn, and you seem like you'd be a good teacher."

Jinora flushed. "Thank you," she whispered. The strange feeling in her stomach grew stronger, but it almost felt pleasant—the way that she felt sometimes after reading a good book or drinking a nice cup of cocoa. And she didn't know why Kai made her feel that way.

"You're welcome. And like I said, I think the Ba Sing Se University would be a great place for you to go to," Kai continued. "You could become a historian, like you want to, and I can come visit you from time to time. I'll show you the city, if you want. It takes a street rat to know all of the really good places."

"I've been to Ba Sing Se before," Jinora answered. "We'd go to visit some of Mother's friends, and my brothers and sister would accompany us when they got older. My brother Rohan—he's seven now—he just started going. Although I'd like to see what you like—the last thing I'd like would be to go to a party or somewhere that advertises the best food in Ba Sing Se when it really just means the most expensive and bland."

"No, no," Kai said, shaking his head fervently, "no, there's way more than that! In one of the shops in the Lower Ring, there's this really nice restaurant that has the best tea in the Four Nations, and another shop that sells this coconut-flavored candy that is just to _die_ for, me and Skoochy—"

"Skoochy and _I_," Jinora jokingly corrected, her years of finishing school coming back to haunt her.

"Excuse me, Sifu," Kai replied with a sarcastic bow, grinning. "Skoochy and _I_ had like four dozen of them before moving on the next day. The people are amazing, you'll never know what stories someone has to tell. I'll show you, if you like."

Jinora smiled at him, excited just from his excitement, as though her emotions were connected to his by puppet strings. "I think I would, actually. I'd like that very much."

The ship's lights suddenly came on, and Jinora couldn't help but revel in the perfection of the moment. "You know, I'm amazed I escaped detection for so long," she said, still smiling. They leaned on the A-deck raft, standing shoulder to shoulder with one another, and she noticed just how comfortable she was with him. In a literal floating zoo, she'd found a friend in Kai Wen, and for that she was infinitely thankful.

"Pretty impressive," Kai said seriously, his green eyes sparkling.

"What's impressive?"

Jinora whirled around so fast that she nearly cricked her neck. Putting a fake smile on her face with ease, she nodded at her mother, who looked disapproving. She was with three other women—Suyin Beifong, Asami Sato, and the 'new money' woman, Korra Lieng. Korra was at the back of the group, obviously unwelcome in their social circle, and she smiled at Jinora and raised an eyebrow, as if to say, 'Wow, what a coincidence'.

"Never mind," Jinora said quickly. Kai cleared his throat from behind her, and her cheeks reddened. "Mother, may I introduce Kai Wen? He'll be coming to dinner tonight, as a reward for saving my life last night." Then, because she felt particularly rebellious, she said, "LingShi invited him."

"Did he?" Mother obviously didn't believe her for a heartbeat. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Wen."

"How brave you must've been last night," Suyin cooed, "to rescue Jinora like that."

Kai rubbed the back of his neck. "It, uh, it was nothing, really," he mumbled.

Jinora knew that her mother was not impressed with her companion, and she knew Kai could tell. It was hard not to notice when someone was staring at you as though they wanted to squash you under their foot like an insect.

They all jumped as a bugler sounded the meal call right behind them, alerting the secret signal for the women to go and change. Jinora had become attuned to all of these things since her engagement had gone through.

Korra rolled her eyes. "Why do they insist on always announcing dinner like it's a cavalry charge?" she inquired of no one. Not that anyone would answer her in the first place.

"Shall we go and dress, Mother?" Jinora asked, desperate to change the subject. Mother nodded and looped her arm through Jinora's. As they walked down the corridor, Jinora looked back. "See you at dinner, Kai," she managed to say before Mother yanked at her arm and they continued to walk down the deck.

The tingling in her stomach hadn't stopped. She was beginning to wonder if it ever would, and if it even bothered her anymore.

* * *

><p>"Hey, kid? Kid."<p>

Kai looked up from Jinora and her mother's retreating figures to meet a pair of bright blue eyes, belonging to the woman who had remarked on how the dinner announcements sounded like a cavalry charge. She was now about a foot from him, leaning against the railing and giving him an amused stare, like this was the most interesting thing she'd seen all day. Judging by what Jinora had told him about other first class people, he was probably right.

"Yes?" he asked, the tips of his ears flushing when his voice cracked in the middle of his sentence. He cleared his throat."Can I help you?"

"Do you have the slightest idea of what you're about to walk into, kid?"

Chuckling nervously, he licked his lips and rubbed the back of his neck again, a nervous habit that he thought he'd outgrown. "Um, no."

She shrugged and said, "Well, you get points for your honesty." Then, wrinkling her nose, she pointed at his outfit and said, "You realize you can't walk into a first-class dinner looking like that, right?"

Kai glanced down at himself, realized the woman was right, and said, "Um, yeah. I tried to mention that, but there was never a good moment."

"Well, kid, if you go into the dining room dressed the way you are, then they're going to lose whatever crumbs of respect they had for you just like _that."_ To accentuate her point, she snapped her fingers. Then, leaning back against the railing with her long brown hair flowing in the wind, she said, "I'm Korra, by the way. Korra Lieng."

"Kai Wen," he said.

"I'm about to make you very glad you met me, Mr. Wen."

For lack of a better comment, he remarked, "Really?"

She smirked and put an arm around his shoulders, leading him down the corridor. "Yep." She popped the 'p', and he grinned. He could get used to her. "I'm gonna stop you from making a fool of yourself in front of some of the Four Nation's finest."

* * *

><p>Korra Lieng, Kai decided, was a woman of strange taste. She'd waited for him to drop off his sketchbook in steerage, then led him into her quarters without a moment of hesitation, sat him down on her bed, left the room briefly and returned with an armful of suits and jackets that he was surprised she'd been able to carry. While he tried them on, she changed into her own dinner clothes, a light blue dress than popped against her tan skin and perfectly matched her eyes. She was much, much older than him, but she was still an attractive young woman.<p>

Strange, yes, but attractive.

After a while, men's suits and jackets and formal wear were strewn all over the place, including the floor and one of the lampshades. And Kai still didn't know what to wear.

"No," Korra declared, wrenching the suit jacket away from Kai. "You're _not_ wearing that, Kai. That barely fits you anyways, and hasn't been in style for about ten years."

"Then why did you even give it to me?"

"Looking stuffy in a suit is Mako's style, Kai, and I'd prefer it to not be yours," she said firmly, evading his question as she threw the jacket behind her. "Take off those trousers too, they're not your color. Try this one."

"Well, _you're_ having a fine time, at least," Kai muttered petulantly under his breath, pulling off his trousers one leg at a time. "So we've sort of settled on clothes. What am I supposed to talk about? I don't own stocks, I'm not rich, and I doubt Jinora will even be able to look at me without her fiancé glaring at her."

"Kai, listen close, will you? You have to look like one of them, and then they'll probably think you're one of them…but if they realize you're not, they'll eat you alive. Besides, you'll have Jinora on your arm, and if you listen to my advice, no one will question you." Korra picked up a suit jacket. "It's much harder for the women to adapt in these situations. You're gonna do fine, I promise."

"Thanks, Mrs. Lieng."

"Korra," she corrected. "Mrs. Lieng was my mother-in-law. Just call me Korra."

"Good to know. Thanks, Korra." Korra grinned at him once he was finally dressed, except for his jacket, which she gave to him. Kai looked down at himself. "Shouldn't I have a tie or something?"

Korra nodded. "Right, right, I forgot," she said, reaching down and grabbing a white bow tie off the floor. After watching him struggle for a few minutes, she snorted at him. "Relax, I can do it." She pulled him to face her, untangled the bow tie, and began to tie it around his neck. "Don't feel bad about it. My husband still can't tie one of these damn things after ten years." After a moment, she stepped away. "There you go."

She started picking up the stuff from the bed. "You know," she said, "I've always got to buy everything in three sizes because I never know how much he's been eating while I'm away. Lucky he's here with me, or I'd drive myself insane wondering."

She turned the mirror toward him again, and he startled backwards, nearly tripping over his own feet in surprise. The very sight of himself in such an expensive suit was incredibly strange. Korra had even put something in his hair that had tamed his messy undercut. He pulled the jacket closer to himself and attempted to examine himself from every possible position.

He doubted that Skoochy or his own mother would've recognized him in this getup. He barely recognized himself.

"I don't even recognize myself," he said, unable to believe it.

Korra grinned like the owl-cat that had eaten the mouse-canary. "That's what I was hoping for, kid." She moved over to grab her bag from the bedside table. "Are you ready for this?"

"As I'll ever be." Kai sighed, trying to prepare himself for this. He'd have Jinora on his side, at least. And Korra too. At least they'd be witnesses to his murder if he screwed anything up. And with that in mind, he followed Korra out the door.

**Well, I had to end it somewhere, didn't I? :) This is getting to be longer than I expected—and I am very much enjoying my ride in this 'verse.**

**Thanks for reading, everyone, and don't forget to review! I hope you all have a happy holiday! :)**


	7. The Dinner

**"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie Titanic: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter Six

**177 AG  
><strong>  
>According to the detailed advice that Korra had given him in her room, there was some kind of unstated law that the first class diners had to wander around on B deck for a half hour or so before dinner, and then would go to the D deck dining room as one enormous influx as the time drew closer to seven o'clock. On the dot, they would enter the room with their dates on their left arms and make their way to their seats to enjoy a well-made dinner interspersed with condescending conversation. After dinner, the men would go drink brandy and smoke cigars while the women would make small talk with each other, mostly with the undertone of 'whatever you've done, I've done better'. Then at nine o'clock, the party would be over and everyone would go back to their quarters, eager to start the cycle again the next evening.<p>

Kai didn't understand the first class etiquette that well, but he supposed that when he saw Jinora he would ask her to clarify, just to be sure that Korra wasn't messing with him. It didn't seem likely, but after years on the streets it took him a long time to _really_ trust anyone. (Jinora was the only exception to his rule, even with Skoochy and maybe Tahno on the list.)

Skoochy, as expected, had nearly coughed up a lung from laughing at Kai's fancy suit—once he'd recovered from the initial shock. Jaya, who'd been sitting nearby, had actually mistaken him for a first class businessman and had curtsied when he'd passed. Tahno had put down his beer and asked the man next to him in an undertone if they'd slipped him a hallucinogen. Qin had shied away from him for the first time since they'd met. Kai wasn't sure whether to laugh at his friends' reactions or cringe at himself—he still didn't know what had possessed him to accept LingShi's offer in the first place.

But then he'd remembered his long conversation with Jinora and how easy it was to talk to her (and her beautiful smile, much better than Xiong's had ever been), and knew that he'd made the right decision. He'd explain things to his friends, and besides, even if the dinner was a disaster, at least he would have Jinora on his side.

"Good evening, sir."

Kai nearly leapt out of his skin to see one of the gentlemen holding the door of the first class dining hall open for him. The man's smile was oily, just like LingShi and the Master-at-Arms's had been, but Kai recognized the smile—it was the same kind that he and Skoochy would see rich people give to other rich people when they saw each other in the street. _This guy actually thinks I'm like LingShi and those guys. Hot damn._

Channeling his inner pompous windbag, Kai nodded with just the right hint of disdain in his own smile, and stepped into the hall. His breath was immediately taken away by the splendor before him, much more incredible than anything he'd ever seen. Above him was an enormous glass dome, bigger than his own quarters with Skoochy, and a crystal chandelier hung majestically from its center. Sweeping down six stories was the grand staircase, where couples chatted and made their way down.

The people amazed him—the woman wore floor-length gowns, elaborate hairstyles that probably took hours to create, abundant jewelry with diamond rings and the like, while the gentlemen stood erect with one hand at the small of the back, talking quietly in suits like his. _Thank the Spirits for Korra Lieng—if it weren't for her, I'd have gone down here looking like an idiot._

As he slowly descended, taking in everything around him (his fingers ached to draw this masterpiece of architecture so he could show it to his friends), several gentlemen nodded in a perfunctory greeting. Kai nodded in return, keeping it simple. He didn't want to risk anything, lest they kick him out before he saw Jinora. Or Korra—he hadn't seen her since they got separated on the way to the elevators.

LingShi came down the stairs with Jinora's mother holding onto his left arm—both of whom wearing clothes that probably cost more than half of the third class would make in their lifetimes. Kai extended his hand, ready to make a good second impression, but they glided right past him, LingShi greeting him with a quiet 'hello' and a nod: gentleman to gentleman.

He felt the urge to snicker in mischievous delight. _I feel like a spy. They don't even recognize me!_

Kai turned away, practicing his posture and preparing his speech in his head, thinking of small talk. As his gaze wandered up to the large grandfather clock on the landing, taking a mental picture of it, his mouth dropped open. Just behind LingShi and Jinora's mother on the stairs was Jinora, an angel clad in a yellow and orange low-cut dress showing off her neck and shoulders. She wore white satin gloves that ended well above her elbows, her hair had been styled into soft, chocolate-colored tendrils, her brown eyes were lined with mascara, and he couldn't help but wonder for a split second if Raava herself had graced Jinora that evening.

Their eyes met again, and as she gave him a small, soft smile, Kai felt a hot rush run up and down his body. She made him feel breathless, like he'd run from one end of the Lower Ring to another on a hot day. He couldn't pinpoint what it was about her that made him feel that way, but he didn't care.

Jinora Gyatso was, without a doubt, the most beautiful woman that he'd ever laid eyes on.

Once she got closer to him, she extended her hand to him, which he took, raised it to his lips and kissed the back of her fingers. A pretty flush settled on Jinora's cheeks, and Kai's stomach did a somersault as he released her hand.

"Good evening." He stood up straighter, cleared his throat, and licked his lips nervously. His arms went straight at his sides, and he nodded once, bracing himself. "May I accompany you to dinner, Ms. Gyatso?"

Jinora giggled softly, and it sounded sweeter to him than the voices of angels. "Yes, you may, Mr. Wen," she said, adjusting her necklace to make sure it wasn't crooked. "You know, I wasn't sure if you were actually going to come."

"Are you kidding? I have the reputation of all the people in third class to uphold." Kai chuckled nervously, unsure of what to do next. He didn't want to go downstairs yet and ruin the moment. What was he supposed to do, talk about the weather? He didn't have his sketchbook on him, so they couldn't discuss his drawings. _Spirits, what do I do now?_

Thankfully, Jinora spared him from coming up with fatally awkward conversation by saying, "Where did you get your suit? Is it yours?"

"Spirits, no." This time Kai's laugh was genuine as he pictured himself owning a suit like this. The price would be enough to feed him and Skoochy for a week. "Uh, Korra Lieng lent it to me. When we were on deck—well, after you left with your mother, she took me to her quarters and polished me up like a new penny."

"Korra Lieng? Really?" Jinora gave him a cursory onceover. "Well, she certainly has good taste. I was...I was going to help you find a suit, I really was, but my mother—she took me away before I could say anything." She paused. "Wait, is this one Mako's? I think I've seen him wear it before."

"If Mako's her husband, then yeah," Kai answered, shrugging one shoulder. "She told me she always buys three different sizes of suits because she doesn't know how much weight he's going to gain while he's away on business." It felt strange to be gossiping with someone he barely knew about this, but her smile was worth it.

She looped her arm through Kai's and he felt a shiver go up his spine. This was it, he thought. He hoped his palms weren't too sweaty. "I think this will be more of me accompanying you," Jinora explained. "Did Korra tell you where the dining room is?"

"Yeah, she told me. If she hadn't, I would've made things up and we probably would've ended up having dinner on deck." He hesitated. "All the same, Ms. Gyatso," he said, channeling his inner gentleman again, "I'm very glad for your company this evening."

"So am I, Mr. Wen, so am I."

The two of them ambled down the stairs, Jinora's dress trailing behind her, and made their way to where LingShi and Jinora's mother were standing and talking with one another—probably about Jinora's wedding, if Kai had to guess. "Darling?" Jinora tapped LingShi on the shoulder, and he turned around, Jinora's mother half a second behind him. "Surely you remember Mr. Wen."

LingShi did a double-take of surprise, his oily smile fading to reveal a grin that reminded Kai of a shark-squid. "I must say, Mr. Wen, I didn't think you would tidy up as well as you have. Why, you could almost pass for a gentleman!"

"Thanks," Kai replied, unsure of what else to say. "That's real nice of you."

A moment of awkward silence passed, and LingShi's eyes bored into Jinora's with a shocking amount of ferocity. It was obvious that LingShi did not want Kai to be here, and Jinora would probably be punished for inviting him to a function he wasn't supposed to be at. Kai subtly tightened his grip on Jinora's hand, and she sent him a quick smile of thanks.

Without anything else left to say, the party descended to the dining hall. LingShi took Jinora's mother's hand and went ahead of Kai and Jinora, leaving them to walk in on their own. On their way in they ran into Korra, who wore a beaded dress, and a man wearing a red scarf around his neck. Kai presumed him to be Mako, Korra's husband. _Spirits, I hope he doesn't recognize that I'm wearing his suit._

"City Boy," Korra said playfully, "I think you remember Jinora, and that's my protégé and her date, Mr. Kai Wen."

Kai extended his hand to Mako, which the older man shook with a strong grip, albeit slightly sweaty. "Nice to meet you," he said.

"You too, Kai," Mako greeted, sounding dismissive as he turned back to Korra. "Korra, I'm going to go get us our seats." He placed a chaste kiss on her cheek, and she did the same to him. He whispered something that Kai couldn't make out in her ear. Korra laughed in response, and Mako said, "I'll see you in abit." He walked ahead with his hands in the pockets of his pants, looking more awkward than Kai felt.

"What did he say to you?" Jinora inquired, tilting her head to the side in curiosity. "Was it about Kai?"

Korra snickered. "Yeah," she said. "He wanted to know why Kai's suit looked so familiar. I didn't want to tell him." Jinora disguised her chuckles as dainty coughs, and Kai had to stifle his explosive bark of laughter in his wrist. Once they stopped, Korra leaned in close to Kai and said (loud enough for Jinora to hear), "You remember what I told you, right?"

"Yeah," Kai said, "just dress like a pallbearer and keep your nose up."

"Atta boy," Korra replied, patting him on the shoulder. Jinora laughed again. "Remember, the only thing these guys respect is money, so just act like you've got a lot of it and you're in the club." And with that advice hanging in the air between them, Korra ambled off to catch up with her husband.

As they entered the swirling throng of people, Kai licked his lips nervously and coughed. "So, is there anyone I should definitely be aware of here?"

Jinora nodded fervently. "You already know Mako and Korra. See those two over there?" She pointed out a pretty woman with long, raven-colored hair standing next to a green-eyed man in a military uniform. "That's Mako's younger brother, Bolin—he's a doctor in the United Forces—and his wife Asami, the heir apparent to Future Industries. The older guy next to them is Asami's dad, Hiroshi Sato. He's the current CEO of Future Industries, and my family's been doing business with his family since before I can remember. Next to them is Bulusi Simei, the chairman of the White Star line. He's been pushing for the ship to go faster and arrive in Republic City earlier than it should. The captain doesn't like that too much."

Kai pretended to write it down on his hand. "Asami Lieng, Dr. Bolin Lieng, Hiroshi Sato and Bulusi Simei. Alright. Who else?"

"That's Sir Iknik Blackstone Varrick, the richest man on the ship. He also put his blood, sweat and tears into building the _Titanic _too. He's crazy, I think, and a bit naïve, but really nice. He and his assistant, Zhu Li Moon—that's her right there with the glasses—just eloped and she's in a delicate condition. See how she's trying to hide it?" Jinora tapped her pointer finger against her bottom lip as Kai noticed the way Zhu Li was wearing a puffy sort of dress to hide her swollen stomach. "_Quite_ the scandal."

"What about those two?"

"Oh, that's Mr. Raiko and his wife, Buttercup. He's in the running for the United Republic presidential election next year, and Buttercup designs naughty lingerie. That's among her many talents." She waved to them. "Very popular with the royals."

"Who's the scarred woman over there that looks ready to jump ship?"

Jinora laughed at the description. "Oh, that's Lin Beifong. She's in charge of the Republic City Company, that's they make guns and other things for the police departments there. Her sister Suyin—the one with the blue dress—is being groomed to take over the company in Zaofu, the family estate. Their family is one of the richest ones in the Four Nations—they could buy this ship and it wouldn't even be a drop in the ocean of their wealth. They've been one of my family's business partners for years."

Before Jinora could continue, Sir Varrick and Zhu Li came over to exchange pleasantries with them. "Sir Varrick, Zhu Li, I'd like you to meet Kai Wen."

Varrick snorted, shaking his head slightly. "Jinora, please, it's just Varrick. How many times have I told her that, Zhu Li?"

"I'd say twenty-four times, sir," Zhu Li responded, her voice slightly monotone. "Not counting the first time you two were introduced."

"Perhaps twenty-five times will be the charm," Varrick mused, shaking Kai's hand. "Good to meet you, Kai. Say, are you of the Omashu Wens?"

Kai was taken aback by the question. "No, um, the Ba Sing Se Wens, actually."

"Yes, of course." Varrick nodded as if he knew exactly what Kai was talking about, then looked puzzled. Zhu Li said hello politely to Kai as well before whispering to Jinora, "Isn't it a pity we're both spoken for?"

The tips of Kai's ears turned pink, as did Jinora's cheeks. "We should find our seats," Jinora said, like she was steeling herself for an unwinnable battle. Varrick nodded and escorted Zhu Li to the table, pulling out her chair for her. Once she'd sat down, Varrick plopped himself down in the chair next to her.

As though she had been summoned by the Spirits themselves, Korra suddenly reappeared on Kai's other side and said, "Kai, just the man I was looking for. I've pulled a few strings and had a place card for you put next to me."

By that point there was really no point in continuing, because Korra had already sat down, patting the chair next to her for Kai to sit in. After saying goodbye to him, Jinora headed around the table and LingShi pulled out her chair for her like a true gentleman, placing a kiss on her cheek once she was sitting.

Kai took a deep breath and placed the cloth napkin across his lap, imitating Korra, Jinora, LingShi and the others. _This is it, _he thought, fighting the urge to bite his nails as the first course of their meal arrived—the caviar.

* * *

><p><em>I was prepared that night to defend Kai's honor if anyone made fun of him being there with us, but no one spoke up. I didn't know why, but I was proud of him. He didn't talk about stocks or racehorses like the men, he wasn't condescending like the women. He was nervous, of course, but he never faltered, and he answered everyone's questions with ease. He put up such a good impersonation of a millionaire that they assumed he was one of them: a young captain of industry, perhaps, or even the heir to an oil company. New money, obviously, but still a member of the club.<em>

_Even LingShi didn't say anything at first—I suspected that he was preparing to speak wrongly of Kai to the men who would all run off to the smoking room for cigars and brandy. He was a spider of a man still, but that night he was silent, and I was grateful._

_My mother, of course, could always be counted upon to say something that no one wanted to hear._

* * *

><p>"Tell us about the accommodations in third class, Mr. Wen," Mother said calmly, although the phrase sounded like an order. She took a dainty sip of her ice water. "I hear they're quite good on this ship."<p>

"They're the best I've seen so far, Mrs. Gyatso," was Kai's prompt response. "The food is good, the rooms are nice, and there are hardly any ratroaches."

The women (and some of the men) grimaced almost all at once, but Jinora fought the urge to laugh at Kai's flippancy. She was a lot more relaxed than she'd imagined herself being this evening—she'd even regained enough of an appetite to eat most of the sea prune stew on her plate.

"And where exactly do you live, Mr. Wen?" Mother asked, firing her questions at Kai like a salvos of bullets. "In Ba Sing Se, I presume?"

"I used to live there, in the Lower Ring." Thankfully, Kai's discomfort wasn't visible. "And right now my address is the RMS Titanic. After that, I'm on Raava's good humor. My folks died when I was young, so I've been living a sort of rootless life ever since."

The waiters came by with the salad, depositing small portions onto the patrons' plates. Kai reached for the fish fork, and Jinora gave him a desperate look, shaking her head slightly. She picked up the salad fork and nibbled at a lettuce leaf, prompting him with her eyes. Catching her drift, he changed forks. No one appeared to notice.

Mother reclined in her seat, probably thinking of something else to say. LingShi took this as his cue to step up to the base. "Tell me, Mr. Wen, since you've been living such a rootless existence, how exactly did you manage to scavenge a third-class ticket for yourself?"

"I won it in a hand of poker," Kai explained, and Jinora perked up in interest. This was something that she hadn't heard before. "My friend Skoochy and I—we've been going around the Earth Kingdom using tramp steamers and hitching rides on the back of paddleboats. Then a few days ago we got dropped off at the harbor where the _Titanic_ was docked and got into a heated game of poker with these two guys, Ming and Shaozu. Played fair and we won, and now here we are on the biggest ship in the world." He took a sip of his champagne. "I've always believed that life is a game of luck."

"Yes," LingShi replied haughtily. "But I believe that a real man makes his own luck."

"And we're all entitled to our own beliefs, Mr. Zhang," Kai responded, giving LingShi a wide, genuine smile. LingShi looked ready to vomit. Jinora felt elated that Kai had scored a point against her fiance.

Jinora, wanting to bring the heat off Kai for the time being, turned to Varrick, who for the entire dinner had been scribbling in a little notebook. "Varrick, may I see what you're writing?"

"You can, but I'm afraid that it isn't particularly interesting," Varrick said, chuckling slightly as he handed her the book.

"'Increase number of screws in hat hooks from two to three'," Jinora read aloud. She turned to him again, giving him the book. "You built the biggest ship in the world and this menial thing preoccupies you?"

Varrick smiled sheepishly. "Guilty as charged."

"His blood and soul are in the ship," remarked Mr. Simei, toasting to Varrick. "She may belong to me on paper, but in the eyes of Raava and Vaatu she belongs to Sir Iknik Blackstone Varrick."

"Your ship is a wonder, Sir Varrick," Jinora said with a smile. "Truly."

"Thank you, Jinora," he replied, a twinkle in his eye. "Zhu Li and I tried our best to satisfy." He placed his hand on Zhu Li's and grasped it. She looked up at him with a secret smile, her other hand resting on her stomach surreptitiously. "It pleases me to see that we did."

After the dessert had arrived, the Master-at-Arms stood up. "It's been a lovely meal," he said with a nod at everyone at the table, "and now will the gentlemen join me for cigars and brandy in the smoking room?"

Jinora leaned as close as she could to Kai. "Now they will dissipate into the smoke and congratulate themselves on being the masters of the universe."

Kai snorted into his plate of treacle tart. Korra elbowed him, and Jinora fought the urge to giggle again, something that she'd been doing a lot more lately. Ever since Kai had swept into her life, she'd felt happier than she had in years. Now if only she could put her finger on why…

"Join us, Mr. Wen?" Hiroshi asked. "Or would you like to stay here with the women?" He and a few others laughed at his wit as though it were the pinnacle of jocularity.

Kai looked uncomfortable as he stood up and stretched, placing his napkin over his unfinished dessert. "No thanks," he said. "I think it's time for me to head back."

"Probably best," LingShi said, patting Kai on the back with a condescending smile. "It'll be all business and politics, that sort of thing. Nothing that you'd be able to contribute to." He paused. "Good of you to come."

Jinora sighed as he came to say goodbye to her, a frown settling on her lips for the first time all evening. "Do you have to go, Kai?"

"I think that I've outstayed my welcome," Kai said. He took Jinora's hand and kissed the back of it gently. She hoped he didn't notice her blushing. "I'm just going to take another look around the landing and then I'll go back to my quarters. Have a nice evening." With one last smile at the women, he strolled off in the direction of the Grand Staircase, whistling a happy tune.

Jinora stared after him, wishing that he didn't have to leave. The dinner was actually bearable with him around-now with him gone the conversation would shift right back to her wedding plans and menial things like who wore what to what event, and LingShi would be expecting her in his quarters tonight…

Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned to face the current Beifong matriarch. "You know," Lin said in an undertone, "he isn't going to wait for you forever."

She furrowed her eyebrows together in confusion. "What are you talking about, Ms. Beifong?"

Korra rolled her eyes at Jinora, leaning close to the young girl. "I don't think he could've been more obvious if he tried, Jinora. Did you really not catch what he said?"

"Look, will one of you please tell me what you're trying to insinuate about Mr. Wen?" she snapped. "I'm in no mood for jokes."

At this point, Lin's expression was one of utter exasperation as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "He was giving you a _hint_, Jinora. Spirits. He basically told you to meet him at the landing."

All Jinora could think of to say was, "Why would he do that?"

"Because he likes you, Jinora." Korra smirked, waggling her eyebrows up and down. "And he wants to show you a good time."

Jinora opened her mouth and closed it several times without saying anything, like a koi fish. "I…"

"Go already!" Lin exclaimed sharply, but the harsh words were softened by the smile in her eyes. "Spirits, kid, go before he thinks you're not going to meet him."

Jinora couldn't get out of her chair fast enough.

**Thanks for reading, everyone, and don't forget to review! :)**


	8. The Real Party

**"The Ship of Dreams, they called it. And it was. It really was…" Over five days, the lives of Kai Wen and Jinora Gyatso became irreversibly entwined. But their adventure was not the typical love story, for the ship they met on was the RMS Titanic. From the moment the ship set sail from the Earth Kingdom in 177 AG, it was destined for disaster. [Kai/Jinora] Titanic!AU.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Legend of Korra, or any of its trademarked characters. I also do not own the plot of the movie Titanic: that belongs to James Cameron and his associates. I only own the story that you see written, and hope that you enjoy my spin on things.**

Those in Peril on the Sea by boasamishipper

Chapter Seven

**177 AG**

Kai's hands were sweating profusely, and he was glad that he'd had the foresight to hide them in his pockets as he ascended to the top of the Grand Staircase. He had absolutely no clue what had even possessed him to talk to Jinora like that. This was supposed to be the last time that they would ever communicate, wasn't it? She was supposed to go off and get married to that pompous dick, LingShi, and he and Skoochy were supposed to wander Republic City as nomads with Tahno and Jaya. Spirits, he was a complete idiot. For all he knew, Jinora wasn't even coming.

_I'll give her ten minutes, _Kai thought, leaning closer to inspect the fine golden gears of the grandfather clock. It _was _interesting, after all. That part hadn't been a complete lie. _Then I'll leave._

When he saw Jinora bounding out of the dining room, taking two steps at a time up the stairway, his relief (and joy) was so overwhelming that he nearly staggered over. He managed to keep his legs from shaking as he turned to face her, trying desperately to act natural around her. "Fancy meeting you here," he said mischievously. _She came. I can't believe that she came._

For some reason, she looked a bit awkward, shifting from side to side. She fiddled with her dress sleeve and then stood up straight, her excess energy fading. But her eyes were shining brightly, just like they had when they'd talked on deck. "I wasn't sure what you meant at first," she began carefully, like she was treading onto thin ice. "But I see now that you were talking about…showing me something?"

"Yeah," he said, his eyebrows waggling up and down. His heart skipped a beat when she giggled at his antics. _Spirits, I've got to control myself. I feel like I'm one of those uncontrollable puppies that pee whenever someone looks at them. _"How'd you like to go to a _real_ party?"

The corner of Jinora's mouth quirked up in a half-smile, revealing perfect teeth. "Only if you'll accompany me."

Kai's response was to grin and nod fervently, gesturing wildly toward the doors leading to the promenade deck a few feet away. "I can't think of anyone else I'd rather be going with," he said happily, before wanting to mentally facepalm. _There is seriously something wrong with me. We're just friends. Just. Friends. Get it together! _"Shall we?"

An infectious smile spread across Jinora's face, and Kai couldn't help but think how much prettier she looked when she smiled. Then he shook his head, like a platypus-bear shaking off flies in the summertime. Those thoughts were dangerous, and he'd been trying to suppress them since he'd seen her on the landing before dinner. Not just dangerous, but exceedingly stupid, because Jinora was _engaged, _and was so far apart from him in terms of class they might as well have been on separate sides of the universe.

And yet, he couldn't bring himself to care. This was Jinora, and she'd just agreed to spend the rest of the evening with him. If she wanted to see a real party, then it was a real party she was going to get.

* * *

><p>Jinora had been raised on garden parties and afternoon teas, and her mother had taught her from an early age that pubs were dirty places where illegal transactions were conducted or homicides were taken place. She'd never dreamed, in her seventeen years of life, that she'd ever go against her mother's orders and go see how the 'other half' lived.<p>

Her companion opened the door to the steerage dining hall for her with a mock-bow, and laughed nervously to see her face scrunch up as a virtual wave of music nearly bowled her over. It was so much more different than it'd been this morning, where everyone had been talking politely and children had been playing games and Kai had been sitting and drawing with his friends and a little girl.

Now, though. Now the dining hall was nearly full to bursting with people of all ages and genders. Tables had been shoved together to make a makeshift bandstand, where an ad hoc band was gathered near the upright piano, honking lively stomping music on a fiddle, an accordion and a tambourine—so different from the classical violin music she was accustomed to. People everywhere were dancing, some were drinking beer and mulled wine, and some were doing both at the same time. Others smoked, others were even brawling, someone had a poker game set up in the back corner, but everyone was laughing and looked as though they were having a good time.

If this was how the other half lived, Jinora thought, then she never wanted to go back to her half again.

"Welcome to steerage!" Kai yelled over the noise, sounding a bit sheepish as he bit his lip. "Whaddya think?"

She jolted in surprise as she realized that he was searching for her approval. No one had ever asked for opinion before. "It's…" Jinora struggled to find the right word, because this party couldn't just be summed up in one adjective. It was nearly impossible. "It's _amazing."_

Kai beamed, looking like the weight of the world had been taken off his shoulders. "Come on, then," he said, barely audible as he led her through the crowd. She received several stares from the other people in the room—they were either wondering what she was doing here, while others probably thought she was there to break up the party. Either or, she felt like she was taking the biggest test of her life.

They made their way to a group of three people—a tall, dark-skinned boy wearing patched clothes and a pageboy cap, a pale man with ice-blue eyes and a mop of black hair, and a brown-haired girl around her age wearing a blue and green dress. "Guys," Kai said, his voice loud but still hoarse, "this is Jinora Gyatso. Jinora, these are my friends Skoochy Nakamura, Tahno Han, and Jaya Li."

Jaya nodded, saying something that Jinora couldn't understand but thought it was a hello. Skoochy shook her hand politely, pushing up his cap higher on his forehead. Tahno shrugged at her, offering her a glass of beer. "Nice to meet you," the beer-holder said, pressing the drink into her hand. "If you're gonna be at one of parties, you're gonna have to drink like us too."

Not wanting to look a gift ostrich-horse in the mouth, she fought to get her gag reflex under control as she drank the glass in four gulps, wiping her mouth on her arm. "That's disgusting," she choked out. She hadn't been this appalled since the first time she smoked.

Kai looked sympathetic, but he was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing at her horrified expression. "Never had beer like this, eh?"

"Raava, no." Jinora shook her head fervently, imagining her mother or LingShi or Sir Varrick having to drink this. "It tastes like cheap brandy and stale dishwater."

"Probably is," Skoochy joked, throwing an arm around Jaya as he led the other girl onto the dance floor. Tahno looked like he wanted to run away with him, probably desperate to get away from the awkwardness of the conversation, but he stayed.

"Mister Kai!"

Kai, Jinora and Tahno all whirled around to see a little girl run toward him, her curls bobbing up and down as she bounced up and down next to him, her plaid dress flouncing. Jinora's companion, beaming, picked up the girl and whirled her around. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Miss Xi," he said, smiling, hoisting her higher. "How've you been, sweetheart?"

"I've been good." Miss Xi smiled, showing off two missing teeth. "I've missed you. I haven't seen you since this morning, Mister Kai."

Jinora couldn't help but giggle at how the girl appeared to be completely infatuated with Kai. Then the girl's father, a harried-looking man, came running up to join them next, scolding his daughter for running away like that. "Qin, dear, you know you can't run away from Momma and me like that."

The little girl—_Qin_, Jinora corrected herself, _the girl's name was Qin_—pouted, her lower lip quivering. "But—but I wanted to say hello to Mister Kai!"

"Well, why didn't you just tell me and your Momma that?" The father shook his head fondly. "Sorry about her, Mr. Wen. I hope she's not been any trouble, I just think she has a little case of hero's worship."

Kai shrugged it off, kneeling down to place Qin on the ground. "That's okay, she hasn't been any trouble at all," he assured her father. "But next time you wanna see me, talk to your mom or dad, okay, doll?"

The band started up another lively jig, and the people that weren't already dancing shoved their way onto the center of the dance floor. Qin immediately looked up at her father. "Poppa, can I dance with Mister Kai, please, pretty please?"

"Yes, go on, just make sure you come straight back to me, understand?" The father gave Qin a quick kiss on the forehead before walking back to another woman that Jinora presumed was Qin's mother.

Jinora looked over at Kai, who was beginning to unbutton his suit jacket. All of her senses immediately went on overdrive as she saw that he was just wearing a white shirt and suspenders, and she almost began hyperventilating. "What're you doing?" she spluttered, her heart rate skyrocketing.

Kai looked confused as he tossed his jacket to the side, not seeming to understand the significance of him practically stripping in front of her. "Dancing with Qin," he said slowly before his eyes widened. "Oh, Spirits, I'm sorry, Jin, it'll only be a few minutes, okay? I'm sorry, I should've asked you first. My—my bad, I didn't…"

"It's okay, it's okay," she reassured him, laughing at his nervousness. "Go on, dance with her." She sat down at an empty table with Tahno, who was nursing Skoochy's glass of beer. "I'll be waiting right here."

The tune didn't last for very long, thank the Spirits, because despite Jinora's flippancy she really did not feel comfortable sitting with Tahno doing nothing but clapping along to the music. It was entertaining to see Kai dance with Qin Xi, or try to, anyways, with her standing on his feet. The crowd was clapping and shouting for more, preventing the band from putting away their instruments.

"I'm gonna dance with her now, alright?" Kai was telling Qin, who nodded once. Jinora froze as Kai held out a hand to her. "You coming?"

"What?" Jinora's train of thought crashed into a brick wall and shattered into a million pieces the size of sand molecules. "Kai. Kai, no."

Kai was unrelenting. "No, you're gonna dance," he said, a smirk flickering on her lips as she slowly got to her feet. "Come on, it'll be fun, come on!"

"Kai!" she protested as they faced each other. "Kai…I—I can't, I don't know—I can't do this."

His smile was electrifying and made her heart skip a beat. "We're gonna have to get a little bit closer," he informed her, taking her right hand in his left as his other hand slides to the small of her back and pushes them closer together, barely an inch apart. She was having trouble breathing.

Kai looked over at Qin, who stood watching them struggle with a confused look on her face. "You're still my best girl, darling," he told her, and she grinned before scampering off.

The music began and they started to swirl around. It was more awkward than anything she'd ever done, being so close to Kai, a man she'd only met yesterday who wasn't her fiancée and her head started to spin. "I don't know the steps!"

"Neither do I!" Kai shouted back, laughing as he twirled her around. "Just move with me, Jinora. Don't think, just—just dance."

Following his advice, she started to get lost in the music, and her feet stopped tripping over each other as she regained her confidence. Jinora grinned at him as she began to get the rhythm of the steps. Hopping and jumping around while still being pressed up against each other, they passed Skoochy and a laughing Jaya, who looked madly in love as they twirled each other around.

A genuine laugh escaped her mouth as she felt free all of a sudden, free like the air had wrapped her in a hug and scattered her across the starry skies. This was totally ungraceful, but it was with Kai, and it was the most fun that she could ever remember having in her life. There was no point in being paranoid, anyways—what with the fray of dancing bodies and twirling skirts surrounding them, she and Kai were practically hidden in plain sight.

"Hang on," Jinora panted, "Kai, stop!"

She bent down, pulling off her high heels and flung them to Tahno, who was laughing as he stuffed them to the side. Then she grabbed Kai's hand again and they plunged back into the swirling storm of dancers, moving faster as the music began to speed up.

The steps became faster and faster, and soon Jinora was glistening with sweat. Near them, a table got knocked over as a drunk couple knocked into it, but they kept dancing. A space opened up around her and Kai, and people watched them go in circles, clapping in rhythm as the band played faster and faster.

Next to them were Skoochy and Jaya, who were whirling each other around like there was no tomorrow. At one point she whirled him around and Skoochy nearly fell over, astonished at the fact that his girl was stronger than he was. Tahno had joined in, dancing with three different girls at the same time. Qin's father was dancing with his wife and daughter. The scene was rowdy and rollicking, and Jinora couldn't get enough of it.

Two songs later, the fast jig ended in a mad rush. Kai stepped away from Jinora with a flourish, taking a gallant bow. Feeling exhilarated and slightly tipsy, Jinora replied with a graceful ballet plié, feet turned out perfectly as the others around her applauded.

They moved to a table, flushed and sweaty. Jinora couldn't help but wonder what her mother would think about her looking and feeling like this. Kai pulled out a chair for her and as she sat down, he sat next to her. Tahno bestowed her high heels upon her, and she laughed, taking them back. Skoochy and Jaya held hands.

"How're you two doin'?" Kai inquired, raising an eyebrow.

Skoochy laughed, pounding Kai on the back good-naturedly. "She doesn't know what I'm sayin', I dunno what's she's sayin', we're getting along just fine."

Jinora grabbed Skoochy's cigarette and took a long drag from it, feeling cocky as Jaya giggled and watched him splutter. Kai was laughing too, and he took a gulp of his beer, nearly choking on it.

As another fast song started up, a few people began to return to the dance floor. Kai looked to Jinora, seeing if she wanted to go, but she shook her head, perfectly comfortable where she was. Thankfully, Kai didn't pressure her into doing something she wasn't comfortable with—another thing that she liked about him.

She could've hit herself for even thinking that. _You're _engaged_, you enormous twit._

Suddenly, a brute of a man crashed into Tahno, who sloshed his beer over Jinora's dress, staining it yellow. Jinora didn't care—her maid could take care of it, anyways—and she laughed to prove it. But Tahno lunged at the brute, grabbing him and wheeling him around.

"Apologize to the lady, you stupid bastard," Tahno growled.

He whirled around, his fists coming up, and then Kai leapt between the two men, pushing them apart. "Ladies, ladies," he said calmly, his tone joking, "you're both beautiful, now calm down, will you?"

Jinora, Jaya and Skoochy held their breaths, each one of them knowing that this couldn't end well. But Tahno just ended up grinning, and he clapped the other man on the back, even offering him a seat at their table.

Then, because she felt particularly reckless, she walked up between the two men and Kai. "So," she said, "you think you're all big, tough men?" She sat down at the table and patted the seat across from her. The brute of a man sat down, looking absolutely bemused. "See if you can beat me."

The man understood, and he thumped his log of an arm onto the table, wrapping his palm around Jinora's thinner one. It looked like a giant trying to snap a branch, and Jinora began to worry but then decided against it. She could do this. It'd been a while since her self-defense classes but she could definitely still do this. "Count of three."

On the count of three, Jinora banged the man's arm onto the table with enough force to topple three out of the five beer glasses sitting atop it. Kai, Tahno, Skoochy and Jaya's jaws dropped almost at the same time.

Jinora took her hand back and shook it. "I haven't done that in years," she said, giggling as the man looked at her with a kind of grudging awe and respect.

But it was Kai's proud, crooked smile that really made her evening.

* * *

><p>"It's a long, long way to Ba Sing Se—"<p>

"But the girls in the city—"

"They look so pretty—"

"And they kiss so sweet, that you've really gotta meet—"

They threw their arms around each other and finished the song in unison, singing, "The girls from Ba Sing Se!"

Looking up after wiping a tear of mirth from her eyes, she realized that they'd made it back to the first class entrance. Neither of them moved, not wanting the evening to end. Through the doors, she could hear the sounds of the ship's orchestra wafting gently through the night, contrasting from the other sounds below decks.

"Here we are," she said.

Kai shrugged, messing with the collar of his shirt. "Here we are," he echoed, his voice pained.

"I don't want this night to end," she suddenly said, surprising even herself with how honest she was being.

Kai sighed, sounding about as melancholy as she felt. "Neither—neither do I," he answered.

She stumbled over to the rail and leaned on it, looking up at the sky. "The people in my class, Kai, they—they live in such a small little world. Every day for them is like a series of soap bubbles, stretching endlessly. And today—today my bubble popped." And now she didn't want to go back to living in a bubble. She didn't want to go back to LingShi and her mother's judgment.

He leaned at the rail next to her, his hand just touching hers. It was the slightest contact imaginable, and yet, all she could feel was that square inch of skin where their hands were touching.

"Look." Kai's words distracted her from her thoughts as he elbowed her in the ribs gently, causing her to look up at the night sky. "It's a shooting star," he pointed out, sounding awed as the star zoomed overhead on a trail of ivory white across the dark black sky. "My mom always said that shooting stars were souls going to the Spirit World."

"My mother says that you're supposed to wish on them," she murmured, and suddenly she became very aware of how close they were to each other. Her skin was tingling, and it felt like a thousand volts of electricity had shot down her spine.

"What would you wish for?" Kai's voice was soft, much softer than her own. His emerald green eyes shone in the night. They were barely three inches apart, and Jinora almost leaned in, almost completed the distance between them…

But then she couldn't go through with it.

"Something I couldn't have," Jinora whispered, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She hoped he didn't realize how much she was shaking. "Goodbye, Kai. Thank you."

She didn't know what she was thanking him for, specifically, because she owed him so much. She owed him for being so kind to her, for rescuing her from doing the unthinkable, for being such a wonderful friend.

But a friend was all he could be, she now knew, and then she left, slamming the door to the First Class Entrance behind her.

**Thanks for reading, everyone, and don't forget to review! :)**


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